IVI, Korea Vaccine Center for Assisting Safety & Technology (K-VCAST) sign MOU to collaborate in regulatory science and training
- IVI, Korea Vaccine Center for Assisting Safety & Technology (K-VCAST) sign MOU to collaborate in regulatory science and training
April 24, 2024, SEOUL, Republic of Korea – The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) and the Korea Vaccine Center for Assisting Safety & Technology (K-VCAST) signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on training of professionals, knowledge sharing, and regulatory affairs education in the field of vaccines and biopharmaceuticals.
K-VCAST was inaugurated in November 2022 under the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and provides technical support for clinical trial sample analysis, vaccine quality inspection and commercialization, and supports the rapid development of domestically developed vaccines by distributing cell lines for vaccine production.
IVI is the world’s only international organization dedicated to the development of safe and effective vaccines for global health, which was established in the Republic of Korea in 1997. IVI covers the entire value chain of vaccines encompassing the research and development and dissemination of vaccines against emerging infectious diseases such as COVID-19, chikungunya, and Lassa fever, as well as infectious diseases that are prevalent in low-income countries such as cholera, typhoid, and salmonella.
The signing ceremony at IVI headquarters in Seoul was attended by Dr. Sun Young Baek, Director General of K-VCAST, and senior officials in charge of education and clinical research from the center; and Dr. Jerome Kim, Director General, Dr. Manki Song, Deputy Director General of Science, Dr. Kyung Taik Han, DDG of Government and Public Relations, and Ms. Alice Lee, Director of Business Development and officials responsible for education and training programs from IVI.
Under the agreement, the two organizations will cooperate in the following areas: (1) training for building the capacity and expertise of professionals in development of vaccine and biopharmaceuticals; (2) exchange of knowledge and information on the latest development trend, advances and best practices in vaccines and biopharmaceuticals; and (3) conduct of training and workshops on vaccine regulatory processes, compliance and strategies.
Dr. Sun Young Baek, Director General of K-VCAST said, “As the crisis from the pandemic comes to a close, our vaccine center and IVI will continue to work together to exchange knowledge accumulated through the pandemic. Today’s agreement that has brought us together will be an important foundation for the development of the global vaccine industry and the safety of vaccines in Korea and worldwide.”
Ms. Alice Lee, Director of IVI’s Business Development, said “IVI is actively participating in the Global Training Hub for Biomanufacturing (GTH-B) project, a collaboration between the World Health Organization and the Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare, to provide training to help strengthen low- and middle-income countries’ capacities to produce biopharmaceuticals. We are pleased to partner with K-VCAST, the only organization in the world that can provide practical learning opportunities in regulatory science, and we will seek strong collaboration in regulatory affairs to accelerate the development of vaccines and contribute to 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 also achieved WHO prequalification in early 2024.
IVI is headquartered in Seoul, Republic of Korea with a Europe Regional Office in Sweden, an Africa Regional Office in Rwanda, a Country Office in Austria, and a Country and Project Office in Kenya. IVI additionally co-founded the Hong Kong Jockey Club Global Health Institute in Hong Kong and hosts Collaborating Centers in Ghana, Ethiopia, and Madagascar. 40 countries and the WHO are members of IVI, and the governments of the Republic of Korea, Sweden, India, Finland, and Thailand provide state funding. For more information, please visit https://www.ivi.int.
