Gyeongbuk Province Selected for Structural-Based Vaccine Technology Commercialization Development Project ... Secures 10 Billion KRW in National Funding

Utilizing Bio R&D Infrastructure such as Synchrotron Radiation Accelerator and Cryo-Electron Microscope for Vaccine Development

Cryo-electron microscopy.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] Gyeongbuk Province announced that the Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) consortium was finally selected for the “Structure-based Vaccine Technology Commercialization Development Project,” part of the 2022 Bioindustry Technology Development Contest organized by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, securing 10 billion KRW in national funding.

The newly selected “Structure-based Vaccine Technology Commercialization Development Project” will invest 18 billion KRW (10 billion KRW national funds and 8 billion KRW local funds) over three years from this year through 2024 to establish a dedicated cryo-electron microscope and high-performance computer system within the Cell Membrane Protein Research Institute located in the Pohang Convergence Technology Industrial Complex.

Additionally, through research collaboration with regional innovation institutions, the project will promote the discovery of leading vaccine and new drug substances using synchrotron radiation accelerators and cryo-electron microscopes, production of the discovered vaccine substances, and the establishment of platforms for performance verification technology development.

This project will be carried out organically by a consortium of regional innovation institutions in the vaccine and new drug fields, including POSTECH, Gyeongbuk Bioindustry Institute, Daegu-Gyeongbuk Medical Innovation Foundation, and Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, with each institution performing roles according to their expertise.

Institutional project implementation framework for the commercialization of vaccine technology.

By institution, POSTECH will oversee overall project management and develop technologies for vaccine and therapeutic structural elucidation and optimization using cryo-electron microscopy (Cryo-EM). The Daegu-Gyeongbuk Medical Innovation Foundation and Pohang Accelerator Laboratory will commercialize optimization technologies for new drug lead substances using synchrotron radiation accelerators. Meanwhile, the Gyeongbuk Bioindustry Institute will promote structure-based mRNA vaccine production and efficacy evaluation optimization.

Gyeongbuk Province has made various efforts to establish a new drug development foundation utilizing accelerators and to strengthen competitiveness in the pharmaceutical and bio industries.

Starting with the establishment of a basic plan for accelerator-based new drug development in 2017, the province built the Cell Membrane Protein Research Institute in May 2021 under the Ministry of Science and ICT, and has achieved significant results by promoting the creation of an advanced technology convergence innovative new drug cluster as a regional pledge of the new government.

Jang Sang-gil, Director of the Science and Industry Bureau of Gyeongbuk Province, said, “This selection is meaningful as it is the first time POSTECH and the Gyeongbuk Bioindustry Institute have established a cooperative system under the philosophy of research-centered innovative governance and jointly secured national funding.” He added, “We will continue to do our best to foster new regional industries by discovering various national projects in collaboration with industry, academia, and research in the new drug and vaccine fields.”

Structure-based vaccine technology is a method of developing vaccines or therapeutics by utilizing protein structure analysis equipment such as accelerators and cryo-electron microscopes, actively used by global bio-powerhouse countries and major pharmaceutical companies.

Recently, cryo-electron microscopy was used to elucidate the structure of the COVID-19 spike protein, contributing to vaccine development.

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