Benoit Opsomer, Vice President & Head of BioProcessing, Asia Pacific, Merck Pte. Ltd, Singapore
How do you describe the crucial steps and measures in COVID-19 vaccine development?
A major factor that contributed to the acceleration of vaccine development for the SARS-CoV-2 virus (COVID-19) has been the early and speedy identification of the novel coronavirus’ genome sequencing, which contributed to an array of vaccination and treatment development efforts around the world.
Diagnostic tests play a critical role in the global effort to contain and fight the virus. These tests help physicians determine the presence or absence of a disease in patients, and their findings are crucial to making treatment decisions. The spread of COVID-19 has demonstrated the importance of diagnostics and will have a lasting impact on a national and global level, reshaping how governments and healthcare players deal with future pandemics.
With the global population exceeding 7.5 billion, vaccine developers require unprecedented capabilities for large-scale production of any approved therapies to meet the demand.
While we don’t produce vaccines ourselves, Merck has over four decades of experience in supporting customers in vaccine development and manufacturing, which is being leveraged during this critical time. Our biggest value add is our experience, not just in terms of routine business operations, but as a reliable and agile technology partner.
Can you elaborate on the significant role Merck is playing at the Jenner Institute and the wider vaccine development ecosystem?
Denne historien er fra June 2020-utgaven av BioSpectrum Asia.
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Denne historien er fra June 2020-utgaven av BioSpectrum Asia.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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"Australia has long been a global leader in research, yet our biotech sector has not lived up to its full potential"
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Unleashing Innovative Wound Care Solutions
The incidence of wounds is rising, especially in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. In Australia alone, 420,000 individuals are impacted by chronic wounds, leading to direct healthcare costs of AUD $3 billion, representing 2 per cent of the country's total healthcare expenditure. Similarly, data from Singapore between 2000 and 2017 revealed that the incidence of wounds among hospitalised adults was 300 per 100,000 for those over 18 and 800 per 100,000 for those over 50. Let's explore further.
