The Korea Research Institute of Bioscience & Biotechnology (KRIBB) said it has developed and licensed out a Covid-19 vaccine candidate to Huvet Bio, a local bio venture firm.

Under the accord, Huvet Bio will pay KRIBB with an upfront payment of 250 million won ($204,000) and 1.5 percent of the total sales if it succeeds in commercializing the vaccine.

The institute has confirmed that the candidate substance formed a neutralizing antibody in various experimental animals, such as rodents, and expects the substance to develop into a vaccine for Covid-19.

Unlike DNA or mRNA vaccines, recombinant protein vaccine technology developed by KRIBB has higher safety than other vaccine types, and is a widely used commercial vaccine method worldwide, the center said.

“With this technology transfer, we expect to be able to respond more effectively to the new coronavirus, which currently has no cure or vaccine,” said Professor Jeong Dae-gyun, the head of the research team that discovered the vaccine candidate. “The vaccine technology can also be used to prevent the flu that occurs every year effectively.”

KRIBB also expects that it will contribute not only to securing the vaccine development platform technology for infectious virus diseases but also developing vaccines for new and variant viruses, Jeong added.

With the completion of the technology transfer, the research agency will help Huvet Bio complete preclinical trials for the vaccine by the end of this year, and conduct its evaluations in consultation with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.