PREVENT and VIDO sign collaborative agreement with South China United Vaccine Institute and Guangzho Institute of Respiratory Disease
Mar 28, 2013
Guangzhou, China – The Pan-Provincial Vaccine Enterprise (PREVENT), a national Centre of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR), and the University of Saskatchewan’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Centre (VIDO-InterVac) have signed a collaboration agreement with the South China United Vaccine Institute (SCUVI) and Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Disease (GIRD), for the joint development of a Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine.
Dr. Andrew Potter, Director of VIDO-InterVac and CEO of PREVENT joined Dr. Tao Peng, President of SCUVI; Prof. Nanshan Zhong, Director of GIRD; Mr. Jimmy Zhan, Deputy Director General of the Bureau of Science and Information Technology of Guangzhou Municipal Government; Wenquan Li, Deputy Director of South China Center for Innovative Pharmaceuticals as well as Jean-Philippe Davignon and Ms. Bobbi Bi from the Canadian Embassy at the signing ceremony in Guangzhou, China.
Under the terms of the agreement, the partners will conduct joint research and development activities in China and Canada with an ultimate goal to develop an effective vaccine for RSV.
Lorne Babiuk, Chair of the Board for PREVENT stated “Given the international nature of infectious diseases and their global impact, we have been aggressively pursuing collaborative research opportunities around the world. We are excited about the mutually beneficial potential of this collaboration with SCUVI and GIRD”.
Infections with RSV are the most common cause of respiratory illness in children and seniors, causing 64 million cases of the more serious RSV-associated acute lower respiratory infection in children, resulting in about 160,000 deaths per year. RSV infections have also been associated with substantial morbidity and mortality in the elderly.
“This collaboration will have a major impact on the quality of life in young children and the elderly. We are excited to be working with organizations that share a similar philosophy and approach as VIDO-InterVac and PREVENT to the alleviation of suffering due to infectious diseases.” said Dr. Potter.
Dr. Tao Peng, President of the South China Vaccine Institute concurred “This is an excellent opportunity to use the expertise of Chinese and Canadian scientists in a vaccine development partnership that will aid in the public health of both nations. We look forward to a successful collaboration that will protect the young and the elderly from this pathogen.”