Homegrown messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine research, launched with a 10 billion won personal donation from Hyundai Motor Group Honorary Chairman Chung Mong-koo, has been stalled for a year just as it approached clinical trials. While mouse experiments confirmed the protective efficacy of an mRNA-based hantavirus vaccine candidate developed in collaboration with U.S.-based Moderna, funding constraints have blocked human clinical trials. Concerns are mounting that the project may be abandoned as interest in infectious disease research and development investment has waned following the transition of COVID-19 to endemic status.
According to industry sources on Sunday, a consortium comprising Korea University's Vaccine Innovation Center, EyeGene, and Medici Bio is awaiting final selection results after applying for the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's (KDCA) "Priority Infectious Disease Pandemic Preparedness Rapid Development Technology Establishment Project." This national initiative aims to establish systems capable of developing vaccines within 200 days of a pandemic outbreak. If selected, the consortium would receive up to 1.5 billion won annually, with the goal of producing vaccine prototypes through intensive support over two years.
Korea University's Vaccine Innovation Center is the nation's first and only privately-led full-cycle vaccine development platform, established with the 100 billion won donated by Honorary Chairman Chung. Hantavirus, which causes hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome characterized by high fever, bleeding, and kidney damage, was first discovered in 1976 by the late Korea University Emeritus Professor Lee Ho-wang. This led to the commercialization of the hemorrhagic fever vaccine "Hantavax" in 1990 as Korea's first domestically developed new drug. However, the vaccine was manufactured by inactivating the virus strain prevalent in Korea at that time, resulting in limited long-term immune efficacy and inability to prevent hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) prevalent in the United States and elsewhere.
With hantavirus infections likely to increase due to climate change, demand for more effective vaccines is significant. The World Health Organization has classified hantavirus infection as one of the candidates for "Disease X," a potential future pandemic pathogen. In Korea, approximately 400 to 500 people, mainly military personnel in their 20s and 30s, are infected annually. The KDCA has designated hantavirus as one of nine priority pathogens for future pandemic preparedness. This is why Korea University began developing an mRNA-based hantavirus vaccine in 2024 using Moderna's foundational technology.
A research team led by Professor Park Man-sung of Korea University College of Medicine's Department of Microbiology confirmed in February last year that experimental vaccines effectively prevented hantavirus infection in mice. However, for over a year, the team has been unable to begin human clinical trials and can only wait for selection in national projects. Producing clinical trial vaccines at GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) facilities requires a minimum of 10 to 20 billion won, far exceeding their available budget. While Korea University Medical Center invested approximately 50 billion won of its own funds, separate from the donation, to build state-of-the-art research facilities, its annual operating budget is only about 350 million won.
Private investment efforts have also hit a wall. Hantavirus vaccines are far from profitable. As a so-called "neglected infectious disease" occurring in rural areas and military bases, the market size is small and revenue projections are uncertain. Companies have little incentive to bear the hundreds of billions of won in clinical trial costs. Government support is desperately needed, but R&D investment in infectious diseases, which had increased to 661 billion won immediately after COVID-19, dropped to 434.3 billion won in 2024. The share of infectious disease R&D in the total R&D budget also declined from a peak of 2.2% in 2022 to 1.6% in 2024.
"If we succeed in developing an mRNA hantavirus vaccine, there is significant potential to enter markets in the United States and China," a Vaccine Innovation Center official said. "However, compared to before COVID-19, public and private infectious disease research projects have decreased by more than half, and research funding has been significantly reduced. Without KDCA support, it will be difficult to continue follow-up research."
Field researchers point to the government's "reactive support" approach as the root cause of this recurring problem. For infectious disease vaccines with low profitability, leaving development solely to the private sector inevitably creates gaps, making comprehensive government support essential. The U.S. government provided $2.5 billion (approximately 2.8 trillion won) to Moderna and $1.9 billion (2.1 trillion won) to Pfizer, securing mRNA platform-based COVID-19 vaccines in about a year. The German and Japanese governments also obtained mRNA vaccines in 2023 after providing extensive support for regulatory approvals, patent applications, and factory construction.