Academia Sinica and vaccine developer Moderna Inc yesterday announced a five-year strategic partnership to jointly develop messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) technology and cultivate research talent in Taiwan.
A letter of intent signed by the two parties includes plans to establish an mRNA technology and vaccine research and development (R&D) platform where start-ups can demonstrate their products and conduct exchanges, Academia Sinica said in a press release.
The partnership’s first venture will be an mRNA innovation awards program to select five research teams or individuals, with Moderna providing winners a cash prize of NT$500,000 (US$16,265) and guidance from the company’s experts, Moderna Taiwan general manager Joyce Lee (李宜真) said.
Photo: CNA
Applicants can submit proposals in any of the following five areas — infectious diseases, rare diseases, immuno-oncology, cardiovascular diseases and autoimmune diseases — from Friday next week to the end of next month.
Through cooperation with Academia Sinica, Moderna Taiwan hopes that more mRNA research would be conducted to explore more possibilities of mRNA applications and find innovative solutions to the healthcare challenges facing the world, while developing technology to improve disease prevention and clinical treatment, Lee said.
Taiwan is the only Asian country where Moderna is conducting clinical trials for its flu vaccine, she said.
Moderna Taiwan hopes to bring the most effective medicines and vaccines to Asia, and become a talent incubation hub in the region in preparation for the next pandemic, she added.
Academia Sinica vice president Tang Tang (唐堂) said that the research academy formed its first mRNA vaccine research and development team at the end of 2020, using its mRNA pilot research facility to develop vaccine candidates for early clinical trials.
On-site verification of the mRNA pilot research facility is expected to be completed by the end of this year and start a small-scale trial production trial by the industry and academia next year, Tang added.
Tang said that Academia Sinica’s Biomedical Translation Research Center, which is part of the National Biotechnology Research Park, has helped 59 companies, including 13 publicly listed companies, with a total market value of about NT$350 billion, accounting for 29 percent of the total market value of the biomedical industry in Taiwan.
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