National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Moderna Collaborate to Develop SFTS mRNA Vaccine

On the 19th, at the Osong National Institute of Health, Jang Hee-chang, Director of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (left in the photo), Kwon Jun-wook, Director of the National Institute of Health, and Paul BURTON, Chief Medical Officer of Moderna, took a commemorative photo after signing a joint research agreement on mRNA vaccines.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The National Institute of Infectious Diseases at the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) will collaborate with the U.S. company Moderna to develop an mRNA vaccine.

On the 20th, the KDCA announced that it signed a Research Collaboration Agreement (RCA) with Moderna on the 19th to jointly develop an mRNA vaccine candidate for Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (SFTS).

SFTS is an acute febrile illness caused by a viral infection. Due to its high fatality rate, it is managed as a Class 3 legally designated infectious disease, but there is currently no preventive vaccine or treatment available, making vaccine development urgently needed.

The KDCA explained that this agreement is the first joint contract the National Institute of Infectious Diseases has signed with a foreign pharmaceutical company in the field of vaccine development research.

Kwon Jun-wook, Director of the National Institute of Health, stated, "The National Institute of Infectious Diseases plans to strengthen its research and development capabilities not only for vaccines against new and variant infectious diseases but also for vaccines that have not yet been developed domestically. Since mRNA platform technology can also be applied to the development of treatments for various diseases including rare diseases, we will actively expand mutual cooperation with excellent domestic and international research institutions."

Kang Hee-chang, Director of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, said, "We expect that this joint research will help enhance the research capabilities of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases for domestic mRNA vaccine development," adding, "We will actively promote the development of vaccines and treatments for new infectious diseases."

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