SEOUL, Republic of Korea, December 8, 2022 — The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) received the Trade, Industry and Energy Minister’s Prize in recognition of its efforts to strengthen biosecurity management. Dr. Manki Song, Deputy Director General of Science, received the prize during the ‘K-Bio Leaders’ Day Conference 2022’ on Wednesday, December 7, 2022.

This prize honors companies and organizations that have demonstrated an outstanding contribution to security management of biological agents over the past 3 years. The recipient of the prize is selected through an annual inspection by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy according to Korea’s ‘Chemical and Biological Weapon Prohibition Act Article 18-2.’ The awardee is nominated by a selection committee consisting of experts from the Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization and other professionals.

Dr. Kyung-Min Lee, Senior Officer for Biosafety and Laboratory Maintenance at IVI, said, “IVI has put in place all the necessary physical and operational management measures for biosecurity to contribute to public health and the international community’s biosecurity network. We will continue to implement systematic and innovative biosecurity management in order to promote the safety of our employees, local community, and the public from biological hazards.”

Dr. Manki Song said, “IVI has received the Trade, Industry and Energy Minister’s Prize in biosecurity management, earning recognition for its excellence and competence in biosecurity and biosafety management again after winning the Health and Welfare Minister’s Prize for excellence in biosafety in 2020. “IVI will continue to ensure the safety of its employees and the public by focusing more on biosecurity, while expanding contributions to the development of vaccines for global health.”

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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.