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News & Events
Institut Pasteur Korea participate in the “Consortium of Infectious Disease Research Institute”
2021-12-01
Institut Pasteur Korea participate in the
Consortium of Infectious Disease Research Institute
Consortium of Infectious Disease Research Institute
On November 24, Institut Pasteur Korea (IPK) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with major research institutes in Korea, including the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) with an aim for research collaboration to respond to the national crisis of infectious diseases caused by emerging and variant viruses.
Fifteen* domestic and international parties including research institutes under 10 ministries including the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT), Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare took part in this MOU and agreed to collaborate in advancing R&D and technology through the establishment of the “Consortium of Infectious Disease Research Institute.”
The "Consortium of Infectious Disease Research Institute.” will implement multilateral cooperation in fields such as ▲exchange of infectious disease research, technology, and information, ▲prompt sharing/distribution/translation/utilization of outputs, and ▲joint research. In particular, the Council plans to establish an emergency response system that can prioritize nationally-needed research on diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines on-demand.
IPK will play a role as the central axis of basic and translational research on infectious diseases within the Council. Its infectious diseases expertise, the infrastructures optimized for research on high-risk pathogens, such as screening platforms in BSL-3 laboratory, along with the expertise accumulated through research on major infectious diseases such as COVID-19, MERS, SARS, tuberculosis, hepatitis, and antimicrobial resistance, will provide a driving force for research on therapeutics and vaccines research.
Dr. Youngmee Jee, CEO of IPK, revealed, “We will closely work with the Council to ensure that the R&D results are quickly translated into the quarantine and medical fields and contribute to strengthening national infectious disease response capabilities. As a flagship research institute for the Asia-Pacific region of the Pasteur Network located in 25 countries, we will continue to pave the road connecting Korea and the world’s infectious disease R&D resources and expertise.”
IPK has been contributed to the national infectious disease response through multifaceted research and cooperation. In particular, as a drug discovery strategy for responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, IPK pioneered drug repositioning research and identified excellent drug candidates using its research expertise. The identified candidates are now undergoing global clinical trials initiated through IPK’s international network. Moreover, Dr. Jee has been sharing her expertise as a member of the “Government Committee to Support COVID-19 Therapeutics & Vaccine Development.” Moreover, through the operation of the MSIT “R&D Support Council for COVID-19 Response” and the NIID “Antiviral Drug Screening Flagship Laboratory” based on its own screening platform, IPK helped to accelerate R&D of domestic and international partners by supporting COVID-19 drug efficacy evaluation.
* Affiliated institutions: Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (National Institute of Infectious Diseases), Ministry of Health and Welfare (Korea Health Industry Development Institute), Ministry of Science and ICT (Korea Virus Research Institute, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience & Biotechnology, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, Institut Pasteur Korea, Korea Institute of Toxicology), Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency) Ministry of Environment (National Wildlife Disease Control Center), Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology), Ministry of Interior and Safety (National Disaster Management Research Institute), Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (National Institute of Food and Drug Safety Evaluation), Ministry of Education (Jeonbuk National University Korea Zoonosis Research Institute), Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (National Institute of Fisheries Science), International Vaccine Institute