IVI and NVI partner for collaborative vaccine R&D and capacity building
IVI and the National Vaccine Institute (NVI) of Thailand signed a Definitive Agreement to strengthen their collaborative partnership
Through an enhanced partnership with NVI in vaccine R&D collaboration, IVI would like to contribute to realizing our common goal of equitable access to affordable and quality-assured vaccines for all.”
SEOUL, REPUBLIC OF KOREA, January 24, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) and the National Vaccine Institute (NVI) of Thailand signed a Definitive Agreement to strengthen the collaborative partnership between the two organizations. The agreement was signed by Dr. Jerome Kim, Director General of the IVI, and Dr. Nakorn Premsri, Director of NVI, witnessed by Dr. Manki Song, Deputy Director General of Science of IVI, and Dr. Sunate Cheunkitmongkol, Deputy Director of NVI.— Dr. Jerome Kim, Director General of IVI
This agreement will strengthen the collaborative relationship enjoyed by IVI and NVI since NVI’s establishment in 2018. IVI has been working on several vaccine R&D programs in Thailand since 2002, including an HPV single-dose study, a Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) country investment case study, Dengue vaccine research and clinical trials, an Oral Cholera Vaccine (OCV) Phase II clinical trial, and studies on Shigella and Japanese Encephalitis (JE). As of 2022, IVI is conducting several clinical trials in Thailand, including Phase II/III clinical trial of Chikungunya vaccine, SK bioscience COVID-19 vaccine trials, Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial with Mahidol University. These programs have been conducted in collaboration with local partners in Thailand, including the Thai CDC, the Ministry of Public Health, and NVI. From 2002 until 2019, over 70 Thai scientists and physicians have received training in IVI’s annual International Vaccinology Course held in Seoul, South Korea. In 2021, NVI supported IVI’s 20th International Vaccinology Course, which was held virtually, and 182 registrants were from Thailand.
This agreement will enable IVI and NVI to explore opportunities for further collaboration and knowledge sharing in the areas of capacity building, including staff exchanges, fellowship programs, infectious disease research, epidemiology, and vaccine research and development.
Dr. Jerome Kim, Director General of IVI, said, “NVI is a trusted partner of IVI for advancing vaccine R&D capacity for global health. Through an enhanced partnership with NVI in vaccine R&D collaboration, capacity building, and knowledge sharing, IVI would like to contribute to realizing our common goal of equitable access to affordable and quality-assured vaccines for all and accelerating regional collaboration for vaccine security and self-reliance for ASEAN countries.”
Dr. Nakorn Premsri, Director of NVI, said, “In the long term, the purpose of collaboration will be enhanced from the inter-organizational level to the national level, a government-to-government effort for vaccine security and self-reliance. Ultimately, NVI aims that this initiative will significantly pave the way in raising Thailand's access to vaccine technology, potential information, and resources, inter alia, opportunities in vaccine research, development, and manufacturing areas as well as international collaborations. Moreover, NVI wishes to ensure that the most effective implementation of the Definitive Agreement under MOU will profoundly enrich and advance such a concrete network among these two vaccine organizations, and eventually contribute to public health globally.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the importance of partnership between NVI and IVI and the potential for such a partnership to positively impact pandemic readiness at the national, regional and global levels. The signing ceremony marks one of the most significant milestones in the history of Thai-IVI relations.
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About the International Vaccine Institute (IVI)
The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) is a nonprofit inter-governmental organization established in 1997 at the initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). IVI has 36 countries and the World Health Organization (WHO) on its treaty, including the Republic of Korea, Sweden, India, and Finland as state funders.
Our mandate is to make vaccines available and accessible for the world’s most vulnerable people. We focus on infectious diseases of global health importance such as cholera, typhoid, shigella, salmonella, schistosomiasis, chikungunya, group A strep, Hepatitis A, HPV, TB, HIV, MERS, COVID-19, as well as antimicrobial resistance. For more information, please visit https://www.ivi.int
About the National Vaccine Institute (NVI) Thailand
The National Vaccine Institute (NVI) is a Government Agency of Thailand established under the National Vaccine Security Act 2018 as an autonomous authority, functioning as a non-profit organization to promote and support vaccine development including domestic manufacturing as well as to establish a vaccine network, with the following duties: conducting vaccine research and analysis, also formulating the national vaccine policy and strategy development of Thailand under the supervision of the Minister of Public Health.
Vanessa Lee
International Vaccine Institute
+82 2-881-1510
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