Quratis announced Wednesday that the company had applied for the phase 2 of clinical trials in Korea for its tuberculosis vaccine for adults.
Quratis큐라티스, founded after an extensive joint research project between Yonsei University Health System and the U.S. Seattle-based Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI), signed a technology transfer contract with IDRI for tuberculosis earlier this year.
Following the phase 2 clinical trials, the company plans to build a plant to produce its vaccine and sell the drug to the global market including Korea by 2018.
Currently in Korea, BCG, a vaccine that protects severe forms of tuberculosis, is given to infants during the first four weeks after birth. However, there are no vaccines authorized in Korea to treat adults, who are less protected by BCG with age.
ID93+GLA-SE, the tuberculosis vaccine by IDRI, was developed by fusing selected protein antigens through analysis of bioinformatics of Mycobacterium tuberculosis worldwide. It is recommended for adults to take three doses to induce protective immunity against tuberculosis.
“There are no tuberculosis vaccines for adults in Korea even though the country has the highest rate of tuberculosis incidence, morbidity rate, and patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis among the 34 OECD members,” said Cho Kwan-goo 조관구, CEO of Quratis. “If the clinical trials are successful, it would be significant that we have the first adult tuberculosis vaccine in Korea.”
Meanwhile, Korea suffers 30,000 new cases of tuberculosis and 2,200 cases of tuberculosis related deaths annually.