"National Institute of Health Research - US Moderna Collaborate on COVID Variant and Tuberculosis mRNA Vaccine Development" (Update)

"Securing Vaccine Sovereignty"... Expanding mRNA Vaccine Platform to Chronic Diseases

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jung] The government has agreed to mutually cooperate with the U.S. Moderna not only on COVID-19 vaccines but also on the development of messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines for infectious diseases such as tuberculosis.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's National Institute of Health signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Moderna on the 22nd (local time) in Washington DC during the 'Korea-U.S. Vaccine Partnership' event, covering collaborative research on mRNA vaccines for infectious diseases including vaccines, and explained the areas of cooperation on the same day.

Kwon Jun-wook, Deputy Director of the Central Disease Control Headquarters and Director of the National Institute of Health, stated at the regular briefing of the COVID-19 Central Disease Control Headquarters on the 28th, "We have exchanged opinions through three video conferences and countless correspondence," adding, "the areas agreed for joint research and development include mRNA vaccine development for infectious diseases of mutual interest such as COVID-19, potential future variants, and tuberculosis."

Deputy Director Kwon said, "The mutual cooperation areas will soon proceed with follow-up actions after setting detailed plans," and added, "since the mRNA vaccine platform is expected to expand its scope beyond infectious diseases to medical fields including chronic diseases like cancer, this cooperation through the Korea-U.S. partnership during this visit to the U.S. will mark a turning point, as well as supporting domestic development."

He also mentioned, "The National Institute of Infectious Diseases will soon sign a cooperation MOU with the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases under the National Institutes of Health," and said, "We will do our best to strengthen research and development cooperation on mRNA vaccines and the latest technologies related to infectious diseases together with both public and private sectors in the U.S."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Deputy Director Kwon reiterated that sovereignty over COVID-19 vaccines must be secured.

He said, "Due to the duration of antibodies, vaccine resistance, and variants, additional vaccinations may be needed at some point," adding, "If at that time even a part of the COVID-19 vaccines is not self-supplied domestically, we would have to resolve it through overseas imports again, but if that happens, I think the public would not accept such a situation."

Deputy Director Kwon explained, "Looking at our country's past defense projects, there has been a development process from importing entire weapons systems from scratch, to gradually producing parts, partial assembly, complete product manufacturing, and eventually independent design and development," and said, "Vaccines are the same, and this Korea-U.S. cooperation on mRNA vaccines will greatly help accumulate knowledge and technology."

He continued, "If we consider the domestic vaccine development goals as a research institution, ▲entering phase 3 through comparative clinical trials within this year ▲utilizing domestic vaccines if additional vaccinations are needed next year ▲and availability of domestic mRNA vaccines if regular COVID-19 vaccinations occur after 2023 are scenarios we envision," adding, "there may be delays or failures, but we must continue to challenge for vaccine sovereignty and ultimately succeed."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.