Accelerating Localization of 'Foot-and-Mouth Disease' Vaccines and Development of 'African Swine Fever' Vaccines

FMD and ASF Vaccine Development Support Meeting

The government has decided to accelerate the localization of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccines and the development of African Swine Fever (ASF) vaccines.

According to the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, on February 26, the agency held an ‘FMD and ASF Vaccine Development Support Meeting’ at its headquarters in Gimcheon, with participation from the government and vaccine development industry representatives.

On the 26th of last month, a 'FMD and ASF Vaccine Development Support Meeting' was held at the Quarantine Headquarters located in Gimcheon, Gyeongbuk. Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency

This meeting was convened in response to the serious situation where two cases of FMD have occurred in the Seoul metropolitan area and 20 cases of ASF have been reported nationwide this year. Relevant departments of the agency, the Korea Animal Health Products Association, and 10 companies involved in the development of FMD and ASF vaccines attended the meeting.

During the session, participants shared updates on the localization of FMD vaccines and the development status of ASF vaccines. They also discussed building a public-private partnership system and support measures to expedite vaccine development and commercialization.

Participants suggested that expanding biosafety level 3 research facilities and shortening the administrative period required for rapid product commercialization are necessary for vaccine development. To this end, they requested: ▲ expanded private sector access to specialized research facilities, ▲ securing joint research facilities, and ▲ increasing technical review staff for expedited product approval.

In particular, for ASF vaccine development, which has begun to show recent progress, the necessity was discussed for establishing an expert council comprising government, industry, and producer organizations to conduct objective evaluations and select candidate vaccines.

The Korea Animal Health Products Association expressed gratitude for the meeting, which helped address industry challenges, and stated its commitment to serving as a seamless bridge between the government and industry going forward.

Choi Jeongrok, Head of the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, said, “Despite the challenging situation in which three major national disaster-type diseases—FMD, ASF, and highly pathogenic avian influenza—are occurring simultaneously, I am deeply grateful to everyone who attended this meeting and actively provided their opinions and suggestions. With this meeting as a stepping stone, we will further accelerate the localization of FMD vaccines and the development of ASF vaccines through active communication and effective division of roles between the government and the industry.”

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