KIPO Publishes Patent Analysis Report on 'Non-mRNA Vaccines'

Overview of COVID-19 Vaccine Platforms. Provided by the Korean Intellectual Property Office

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) is publishing and distributing a patent analysis report on ‘non-mRNA vaccines.’

On the 17th, KIPO announced that it has published the report to support domestic companies, universities, and research institutions, and will make it available through the ‘Patent Information Navigation’ platform.

Non-mRNA vaccines encompass vaccine types other than the mRNA method used by Pfizer and Moderna, including viral vectors, synthetic antigens, self-amplifying RNA, and DNA methods.

The report is published to help domestic researchers currently developing vaccines easily understand existing patents on non-mRNA vaccine platforms, enabling them to set research and development directions or establish strategies to respond to key patents.

The report contains patent information analysis on 15 types of non-mRNA vaccines currently undergoing global clinical trials, offering the advantage of easily checking the characteristics of each platform technology and the major patents held by pharmaceutical companies.

Additionally, it provides a detailed analysis of recently disclosed patents and fundamental core patents related to COVID-19 vaccines for each vaccine production process, serving as a guide for domestic researchers in their R&D efforts.

Analysis data on the advantages and disadvantages of each vaccine technology. Provided by the Korean Intellectual Property Office

Until now, while mRNA vaccines from global pharmaceutical companies such as Moderna and Pfizer have been rapidly distributed and recognized for their efficacy, there has been relatively less public interest in vaccine platform technologies like viral vectors or synthetic antigens that were widely used before the spread of COVID-19.

However, non-mRNA vaccines have differentiated advantages such as long-term verification in terms of safety and side effects compared to mRNA vaccines, and easier storage and distribution. For these reasons, KIPO recognizes the importance of developing non-mRNA vaccines and aims to support domestic researchers in their development process.

Kim Ji-soo, Director of the Examination Planning Bureau at KIPO, stated, “Considering the rapid global spread of the Omicron variant recently, securing COVID-19 vaccine technology is an important task we must proactively address. Especially reflecting the current situation where most domestic researchers are focusing on developing non-mRNA vaccines, we will support the establishment of R&D strategies through the non-mRNA vaccine patent analysis report and help serve as a catalyst for securing vaccine sovereignty.”

Meanwhile, prior to publishing the non-mRNA vaccine patent analysis report, KIPO released a patent analysis report on mRNA vaccines last September.

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