Aju Business Daily

SEOUL -- The National Vaccine Institute (NVI), a Thai public autonomous authority that coordinates vaccine affairs with domestic and international stakeholders, will cooperate with Genexine, a clinical-stage biotechnology company in South Korea, for the development of GX-19, a DNA vaccine material for COVID-19, as well as clinical trials.

The memorandum of understanding with NVI came after Genexine secured approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, a public health watchdog in South Korea, to go ahead with clinical trials. The first stage will involve 40 healthy volunteers and evaluate the safety and efficacy of antibody formation in 150 patients.

In May, PT Kalbe Farma, a pharmaceutical, healthcare and nutrition company in Indonesia, forged a partnership with Genexine for joint vaccine research that would enable GX-19's clinical trials in Southeast Asia.

Genexine has been involved in a state-commissioned research consortium that also groups the state-run Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST), Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) and the International Vaccine Institute (IVI). The consortium started the first testing of a vaccine candidate on monkeys in March to check the safety of GX-19 and confirmed the generation of antibodies that can neutralize a novel coronavirus.

South Korea has unveiled a roadmap for the treatment of COVID-19 to develop plasma treatment by the year's end as well as antibody treatment and vaccines next year. Researchers have been involved in quick experiments to check the efficacy of various drugs.