REYON Pharmaceutical (representative directors Sunok Jeong and Yonghwan Yoo) signed a MOU with EYEGENE (CEO Wonil Yoo) for joint development of manufacturing COVID-19 Vaccine EG-COVID on November 17th, 2021. 

 
(From left, CEO of EYEGENE Wonil Yoo and representative director of REYON Pharmaceutical Yonghwan Yoo)

Through the MOU, JinCheon factory will play vital role in mass production of COVID-19 mRNA vaccine named “EG-COVID”, and transfer the ‘know-how’ to ChoongJu factory later on. EYEGENE is able to concentrate their resources on successful clinical trial and commercializing the vaccine through REYON’s mass production of the product. 

mRNA is also known as messenger RNA that converts DNA information into protein, and mRNA vaccine is used in Pfizer-BioNTech, CureVac, and Moderna for COVID-19 clinical trial

State-of-the-art technology is implemented into EYEGENE’s EG-COVID which was used for herpes zoster before. For this reason, cationic liposome will be effectively bounded to EG-COVID; therefore, mRNA will be much more effective and stable leading to higher therapeutic effects. 

Recently, EYEGENE EG-COVID’s effects on immunogenicity was confirmed and due to cationic liposome, the vaccine is stable under low temperature similar to Pfizer and moderna’s vaccine; therefore, convenient transportation will be possible 

Both companies will be able to co-develop drugs based on mRNA with MOU. With EYEGENE’s mRNA technology and REYON’s mass production and manufacturing experience, discovery of new generation drug is possible. 
 

 Representative director of REYON Pharmaceutical, Yonghwan Yoo said, “I am very pleased to announce that REYON’s COVID-19 candidate drug and EYEGENE’s strong technology of mRNA will enable us to take a step forward in developing cure for COVID-19. With these, we will overcome Corona pandemic with haste. I am asking Jincheon factory to collaborate with EYEGENE for fast clinical trial and commercialization of the drug; moreover, commercialization of preexisting DNA drug, AAV, and mRNA will be also possible in Chungiu factory.
 
CEO of EYEGENE Wonil Yoo added, “We will push forward of EG-COVID vaccine with REYON’s abundant funds and global bio & chemical production platform. Especially, securing manufacturing site becomes more vital issue due to competing development of COVID-19 vaccine among other competitors, and I believe that this contract will relieve us from the issue. With REYON, we will advance fast of EG-COVID’s clinical trial which is scheduled in the middle of year 2021.