‘Pandemic Solver’ mRNA, How Far Has Self-Sufficiency Progressed?

Vaccine-related photo [Image source=Yonhap News]

A pan-government vaccine research and development performance sharing meeting was held to share research achievements related to messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines, supported by the government for rapid pandemic response.

The vaccine technology using mRNA gained significant attention during the COVID-19 pandemic for its rapid and large-scale production. The American company Moderna became a global enterprise after commercializing the COVID-19 vaccine developed using this method. Our government prioritizes self-sufficiency in mRNA technology as the top task in related research.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency held a meeting on the 30th at The Westin Chosun Seoul to share the progress of projects supported by various ministries this year on this topic and to discuss cross-ministerial support for promising projects. This was the first event gathering five ministries including the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, along with related specialized institutions and researchers.

At this event, five projects focusing on core element technologies, four projects related to candidate substance discovery and preclinical stages, and four projects on clinical trials, production processes and raw materials, and evaluation technologies were presented.

From last year to this year, five government ministries invested approximately 89.3 billion KRW (as of July) in a total of 70 projects to support mRNA vaccine research. It was found that support was concentrated on clinical trials of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines and the development of core element technologies.

As a result, in the core element technology field, Korean-style mRNA structures and delivery technology were secured. In this regard, nine technology transfers were made, resulting in technology licensing contracts worth at least 8 billion KRW. Three domestic mRNA vaccines are currently in clinical trials, and in the preclinical field, development is underway targeting eight candidate substances. Additionally, in the mRNA vaccine raw materials sector, two products have been successfully commercialized, and three types of mRNA synthesizing enzymes are under development, according to government officials.

Hwang Seung-hyun, head of the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Global Vaccine Hub Promotion Team, said, “Establishing a ‘pan-government vaccine R&D cooperation system’ is essential for strategic approaches and promotion of vaccine development,” adding, “We expect this to be discussed at the newly established ‘Biohealth Innovation Committee.’” Lee Ki-eun, director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s Public Vaccine Development Support Center, stated, “The mRNA vaccine platform, which can respond quickly to emerging infectious diseases, is a national strategic technology that must be secured, and we hope that domestic technology development will enable its use not only for infectious disease prevention but also for cancer and rare disease treatment.”

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