KGC to work on a ginseng-based vaccine adjuvant

Jerome Kim, director-general of the International Vaccine Institute, left, and Kim Jae-su, CEO of Korea Ginseng Corporation, pose after signing a memorandum of understanding to develop a vaccine adjuvant. [KGC]

The Korea Ginseng Corporation (KGC) signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Vaccine Institute to develop a vaccine adjuvant, KGC announced Friday.

An adjuvant is an immune system boosting agent that is added to a vaccine to increase its efficacy.

The International Vaccine Institute is a Seoul-based nonprofit international organization established in 1997. It is currently developing a Covid-19 vaccine. The memorandum of understanding was signed at the institute’s research center at Seoul National University on Thursday by Kim Jae-su, CEO of KGC, and Jerome Kim, director-general of the International Vaccine Institute.

KGC said it plans to contribute to the development of an adjuvant using its ginseng products from the brand Cheong Kwan Jang. KGC will provide 12 ginsenosides, or ginseng saponins, that are included in Cheong Kwan Jang ginseng products. The institute will use those ginsenosides in the development of a vaccine.

The institute “will research the effectiveness of ginseng’s adjuvant as part of the strategy to develop adjuvants that are necessary for diverse types of vaccines, like those for Covid-19,” said Song Man-ki, deputy director-general of the institute’s science unit.

“The value of ginseng is expected to rise if elements from Cheong Kwan Jang are used for the development of a vaccine based on the latest memorandum of understanding,” said Park Chae-kyu, managing director of the research and development headquarter at KGC.

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]