May 8, 2024, SEOUL, Republic of Korea, HOUSTON, USA, and PANAMA CITY, Panama — The International Vaccine Institute (IVI), an international organization with a mission to discover, develop, and deliver safe, effective, and affordable vaccines for global health, Baylor College of Medicine (Baylor), health science university and a Texas nonprofit corporation, and the Regional Center for Innovation in Vaccines and Biopharmaceuticals (CRIVB) AIP, a research and development center and product development laboratory established by the government of Panama, announced today a new collaborative relationship to pursue shared global health goals through biopharmaceutical research and training.
May 8, 2024, SEOUL, Republic of Korea, HOUSTON, USA, and PANAMA CITY, Panama — The International Vaccine Institute (IVI), an international organization with a mission to discover, develop, and deliver safe, effective, and affordable vaccines for global health, Baylor College of Medicine (Baylor), health science university and a Texas nonprofit corporation, and the Regional Center for Innovation in Vaccines and Biopharmaceuticals (CRIVB) AIP, a research and development center and product development laboratory established by the government of Panama, announced today a new collaborative relationship to pursue shared global health goals through biopharmaceutical research and training.
With the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU), the three organizations aim to strengthen capabilities in the vaccine sciences and the biopharmaceutical research & development industry in Panama and the greater Latin America region. Through training and other workforce development programs, highlighting key aspects of the biotechnology continuum such as technological transfers, international regulatory requirements, and vaccine product development and manufacturing, the partners look forward to bolstering a holistic and sustainable bio-industry ecosystem in Panama and the region.
Dr. Jerome Kim, Director General of IVI, said: “We are very pleased to enter a collaborative relationship with Baylor and CRIVB AIP. IVI brings to the partnership extensive experience working across the vaccine value chain including technology transfer, and we look forward to combining the diverse range of expertise among our organizations to develop the biopharmaceutical workforce and industry through training and plans for future vaccine manufacturing facilities in Panama.”
“Our Texas Children’s Center for Vaccine Development at BCM has more than two decades of experience advancing vaccine sciences to tackle tropical and infectious diseases of utmost importance for the people living in the Central American and Caribbean Region,” said Dr. Maria Elena Bottazzi, Sr. Associate Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor and co-director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development. “It is an honor to join forces with IVI and CRIVB AIP and strengthen the local and regional ecosystem for biopharmaceutical development while in parallel train the next generation of vaccine scientists.”
Dr. Eduardo Ortega Barría, national secretary of the National Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation (Senacyt) of Panama, said: “This tripartite agreement between the International Vaccine Institute, Baylor College of Medicine and the Regional Center for Innovation in Vaccines and Biopharmaceuticals brings us closer to the objective of researching, developing and producing vaccines of interest to public health in Latin America and the Caribbean. It also opens the door for the training of Panamanian scientists in high-tech centers in Korea and the United States of America.”
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About the International Vaccine Institute (IVI)
The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) is a non-profit international organization established in 1997 at the initiative of the United Nations Development Programme with a mission to discover, develop, and deliver safe, effective, and affordable vaccines for global health.
IVI’s current portfolio includes vaccines at all stages of pre-clinical and clinical development for infectious diseases that disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries, such as cholera, typhoid, chikungunya, shigella, salmonella, schistosomiasis, hepatitis E, HPV, COVID-19, and more. IVI developed the world’s first low-cost oral cholera vaccine, pre-qualified by the World Health Organization (WHO), and developed a new-generation typhoid conjugate vaccine that also achieved WHO prequalification in early 2024.
IVI is headquartered in Seoul, Republic of Korea with a Europe Regional Office in Sweden, an Africa Regional Office in Rwanda, a Country Office in Austria, and a Country and Project Office in Kenya. IVI additionally co-founded the Hong Kong Jockey Club Global Health Institute in Hong Kong and hosts Collaborating Centers in Ghana, Ethiopia, and Madagascar. 40 countries and the WHO are members of IVI, and the governments of the Republic of Korea, Sweden, India, Finland, and Thailand provide state funding. For more information, please visit
About Baylor College of Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine (www.bcm.edu) in Houston is recognized as a health sciences university and is known for excellence in education, research and patient care. Baylor is a top-ranked medical school and listed 20th among all U.S. medical schools for National Institutes of Health funding and No. 1 in Texas. Located in the Texas Medical Center, Baylor has affiliations with seven teaching hospitals and jointly owns and operates Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, part of St. Luke’s Health. Currently, Baylor has more than 3,000 trainees in medical, graduate, nurse anesthesia, physician assistant, orthotics and genetic counseling as well as residents and postdoctoral fellows.
About CRIVB AIP
It is a public interest association promoted by Senacyt for the research and development of vaccines and biological products of interest to public health in Panama, Latin America and Central America. The Crivb AIP will allow the diversification of innovative technology-based activities, including the generation of knowledge, intellectual property (patents), and will help the country to have better preparation conditions for emerging diseases, pandemics and other health crises that could arise in the future.
MEDIA CONTACTS
IVI
Aerie Em, Global Communications & Advocacy Manager
+82 2 881 1386 | aerie.em@ivi.int
CRIVB AIP
Helkin Guevara, Journalist – Head of Communication
National Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation
Phone: 507 517-0014 | hguevara@senacyt.gob.pa | www.senacyt.gob.pa
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