Moderna, a leading biotech company pioneering mRNA therapeutics and vaccines, said it would cooperate with International Vaccine Institute (IVI) to tackle viruses threatening global public health.

Moderna signed a memorandum of understanding with IVI for vaccine R&D cooperation at the institute’s headquarters in Seoul on Wednesday.

IVI, a non-profit intergovernmental organization, developed the world’s first inexpensive oral cholera and typhoid vaccine, prioritizing the prevention of poverty-related infectious diseases. In addition, IVI focuses on infectious diseases of global health importance, such as chikungunya, shigella, salmonella, schistosomiasis, Group A streptococcus, Hepatitis E, HPV, and COVID-19, as well as antibiotic resistance.

“In March, we announced a commitment to expand our global public health portfolio by including 15 vaccine programs targeting priority pathogens that threaten global health and advancing these vaccines into clinical trials by 2025. It is essential to cooperate with other organizations to achieve this goal,” said Moderna’s Chief Medical Officer Paul Burton. “I am proud to establish a vaccine R&D partnership with IVI to develop mRNA vaccine for preventing infectious diseases.”

IVI Director-General Jerome Kim said, “IVI aims to contribute to global public health improvement by developing necessary vaccines through IVI’s innovative vaccine technology. We hope for close cooperation with Moderna, a biotech company with cutting-edge technology.”