GC Biopharma presented its mRNA vaccine development strategy at the Global Vaccine Forum in Seoul on Thursday.

The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) and EuBiologics jointly organized the forum, which had the theme “Present and future of mRNA and other vaccine platform technologies.”

GC Biopharma began researching mRNA/LNP (Lipid Nanoparticle) platforms in 2019. It has built its “end-to-end” process from cell line development to mRNA synthesis, LNP formulation, finished goods production, and quality analysis. GC Biopharma is the first Korean company to internalize the entire process of mRNA drugs. Notably, the company uses its AI technology to optimize mRNA and LNP structures during development.

GC Biopharma plans to submit a phase 1 IND for its Covid-19 mRNA vaccine pipeline within the year. Development is expected to accelerate as the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency has declared the localization of mRNA vaccines by 2028.

The company explained that designing an AI-based mRNA structure significantly increased the expression rate. The higher expression rate allows for lower drug dosage, which helps reduce toxicity and improve safety.

GC Biopharma said that the Covid-19 mRNA vaccine in development has secured non-clinical results that induce immune responses similar to existing products at relatively low concentrations.

“GC Biopharma is ready to lead the independence of next-generation vaccine technology at the global level beyond the traditional vaccine field,” said Shin Youn-chul, head of GC Biopharma's development team. “We plan to use mRNA/LNP technology to prevent infectious diseases and develop various therapeutic products.”

With the clinical entry of the Covid-19 vaccine, GC Biopharma will be able to respond to the next pandemic quickly,” Shin added.