Clinical Trials Next For Hiv/Aids Vaccine Korean Biotech Company Making It Happen

London, ON. - An HIV/AIDS vaccine developed by Dr. Yong Kang, a virology professor at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at The University of Western Ontario is being readied for clinical trials.

Korean-based Curocom Co. Ltd. today announced the opening of Curocom Canada at the Stiller Centre for Technology Commercialization in London, Ontario, which will take Kang’s vaccine through the next steps. This is Curocom’s first Canadian subsidiary, and its close proximity to Kang’s laboratory at Western will significantly accelerate the commercialization process of the novel HIV vaccine program.

Kang’s vaccine could be available for therapeutic use within the next three years, and for use as a preventive vaccine within the next six years. It has proven to stimulate protective immune responses in animals, and holds tremendous promise. The vaccine is based on the production of virus-like particles known as pseudovirions to produce protective immune responses. Curocom’s commitment to have the vaccine manufactured now makes way for Kang to seek FDA approval and he is confident it will be granted.

“He has been issued one of only a few HIV vaccine patents in the world and has developed one of the few technologies to make it this far in a process where dozens of other potential vaccines from much larger institutions have failed,” says Ted Hewitt, Vice-President, Research and International Relations, The University of Western Ontario. Kang now holds patents in the U.S. and in Africa, with more pending.

“We are very happy to work together with Professor Kang and do our best to support his research and development,” says Dr. Dong Joon Kim, President and CEO of Curocom Co., Ltd. Curocom Co. Ltd has multiple subsidiaries focusing on Information Technology, Biotechnology, and Venture Capital investments. Curocom Canada has also initiated a program to develop a Hepatitis C vaccine (HCV) based on Kang’s novel delivery system.

HIV has killed over 25 million people worldwide since the virus was first discovered in 1981. “This vaccine has the potential of saving millions of lives,” says Kang who has been working on the vaccine for two decades.


Curocom Canada has also initiated a program to develop a Hepetitis C vaccine based on Kang’s research.


MEDIA CONTACT:
Kathy Wallis, Media Relations Officer, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, 519-661-2111 ext. 81136, blackberry 519-777-1573, Kathy.wallis@schulich.uwo.ca