Moderna said on Wednesday that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Korea mRNA Vaccine Initiative (KmVAC), a Korean government program, to pursue collaborative vaccine R&D and mutual cooperation.

Under the MOU, Moderna and KmVAC will establish a cooperative relationship and activate related networks for infectious disease research and vaccine development.

Particularly, Moderna plans to actively exchange technical information for research and vaccine development with the mRNA vaccine business group for new variants of infectious diseases. Consequently, cooperation throughout the entire vaccine development cycle will be accelerated through its mRNA Access program.

The mRNA Access program aims to work with global partners to accelerate the development of new vaccines using mRNA technology. It is a program that provides researchers around the world with access to Moderna's mRNA platform to help develop new vaccines to respond to newly emerging or marginalized infectious diseases.

"We are happy to establish a partnership with KmVAC to more efficiently research and develop mRNA vaccines for the prevention of new infectious diseases," Moderna Korea CEO Sohn Ji-young said. "Close cooperation with various institutions is an essential factor in achieving this goal.”

The Korea mRNA Vaccine Initiative was launched in January 2022 as a joint project from the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The initiative plans to secure vaccine technology that can promptly respond to future emerging infectious diseases and build a platform for vaccine self-sufficiency with homegrown technology to strengthen Korea’s health security.

In January, KmVAC awarded grants to nine clinical and non-clinical research projects, with a total of 26 organizations conducting research.

"This agreement with Moderna will be pursued to respond quickly to the threat of new variants of infectious diseases in the future," KmVAC Director General Hong Kee-jong said.