Sumagen, a life science subsidiary of Kosdaq-listed Curocom, Thursday announced it has kicked off research to develop a vaccine against COVID-19.

Sumagen has been dedicated to science for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) vaccines.

On the same day Sumagen signed a contract to conduct a preclinical study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a vaccine based on its patented vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) technology for the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) headquartered in Seoul.

Shares of companies with stakes in the lab rose Friday on the news.

Curocom with 65 percent stake in Sumagen gained 1.9 percent and GNCO with 35 percent rose 4.55 percent.

The VSV technology, which uses a virus as a vector for gene delivery or therapy, has been established as a robust vaccine vector backbone for infectious diseases for over a decade.

The company said it will launch a human clinical trial upon confirmation of vaccine efficacy and safety in animal models.

By Pulse

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