Dr. So Jung An, research scientist at the Vaccine Process Department at IVI’s Science Unit, and Dr. Byoung Shik Shim, research scientist at the Science Unit received the Korean Health and Welfare Minister’s Prize for their contributions to the Korea Global Vaccine Hub initiative on December 30, 2022.
Dr. An has been honored for her important contributions to the development and technology transfer to vaccine manufacturers (SK bioscience, Biofarma, etc) of IVI’s Vi-DT typhoid conjugate vaccine, which was licensed by the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in May last year. She also contributed to training of LMIC trainees on Vi-DT manufacturing technology by participating in the Global Training Hub for Biomanufacturing (GTH-B) program.
Dr. Shim has been cited for successfully leading efforts to qualify and validate for the first time in Korea a standard assay for evaluating neutralizing antibody titers, which has been used in clinical sample analysis of COVID-19 vaccines including SK bioscience’s (SKYCovione) that was licensed in June last year.
Earlier on December 6, Ms. Alice Lee, Director of IVI’s Business Development Department, was honored with the Korean Health Minister’s Prize for her contributions to infectious diseases education. She has successfully coordinated the development and operation of IVI’s 2022 GTH-B training courses, which are conducted in collaboration with the ministry and the World Health Organization to help increase LMICs’ capacity in local manufacturing of vaccines and biopharmaceutical products.
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About the International Vaccine Institute (IVI)
The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) is a non-profit international organization established in 1997 at the initiative of the United Nations Development Programme with a mission to discover, develop, and deliver safe, effective, and affordable vaccines for global health.
IVI’s current portfolio includes vaccines at all stages of pre-clinical and clinical development for infectious diseases that disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries, such as cholera, typhoid, chikungunya, shigella, salmonella, schistosomiasis, hepatitis E, HPV, COVID-19, and more. IVI developed the world’s first low-cost oral cholera vaccine, pre-qualified by the World Health Organization (WHO), and developed a new-generation typhoid conjugate vaccine that is currently under assessment for WHO PQ.
IVI is headquartered in Seoul, Republic of Korea with a Europe Regional Office in Sweden and Collaborating Centers in Ghana, Ethiopia, and Madagascar. 39 countries and the WHO are members of IVI, and the governments of the Republic of Korea, Sweden, India, and Finland provide state funding. For more information, please visit https://www.ivi.int.