The National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) said Thursday that it is launching a clinical trial to prepare for emerging infectious diseases, called the STRIVE study, in collaboration with the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

The NIID is part of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA)’s National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The state-run institute signed a letter of intent with the NIAID in April last year and is establishing a multinational clinical trial collaboration system as part of the agreement.

The STRIVE study is a new global clinical trial system for pandemic preparedness, which will first evaluate newly developed antiviral and immunomodulatory drugs for Covid-19 patients.

To facilitate the participation of domestic hospitals and researchers in the clinical trials, the NIID has organized a national clinical research network and is coordinating the entire process from planning to conducting and managing clinical trials.

The Korean hospitals participating in the study under the leadership of the NIID passed the clinical trial eligibility assessment, including on-site inspections, in the first half of this year. In early August, patient enrollment began at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital and the Catholic University of Korea Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, joining the global clinical research collaboration in earnest.

"Besides the NIAID, we will continue our global clinical trial collaboration system with major clinical research centers worldwide to strengthen our ability to develop new treatments for infectious diseases and respond to emerging infectious diseases," NIID Director Jang Hee-chang said.