Cha Vaccine Institute introduces new drug candidate for combi-vaccine for COVID-19 and influenza

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SEOUL -- To prepare for the "twindemic," a simultaneous outbreak of two different kinds of epidemics, that is forecasted to hit South Korea at the end of 2022, Cha Vaccine Institute, a vaccine specialist lab affiliated with Cha Biotech, has introduced a new drug candidate for a combination vaccine for COVID-19 and influenza. Cha Biotech is a biopharmaceutical company with South Korea's largest pipeline of stem cell therapies.

According to South Korea's disease control agency in 2020, about three thousand people lose their lives because of the flu. The influenza virus is up to 107 times more lethal to old people aged more than 64. After the country was hit by the first wave of a coronavirus pandemic in February 2020, 29,795 people lost their lives because of COVID-19 in South Korea as of November 15, 2020.

Cha Vaccine Institute said that the new drug candidate was based on the company's immune enhancer platform drug L-pampo. Through tests, the institute found that L-pampo induced a higher immunogenicity in the combination vaccine compared to other immune enhancers used in different vaccines. Researchers also found that Cha's new drug candidate activated cell-mediated immunity in elderlies to boost the effectiveness of combination vaccines.

"This new drug candidate uses L-pampo to boost immunization against COVID-19 and influenza and especially enhance the immunity of old people," the institute said in a statement on November 17.

Park Sae-jin swatchsjp@ajunews.com

Cha Vaccine Institute introduces new drug candidate for combi-vaccine for COVID-19 and influenza

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