KGC to develop ginseng-based immunity booster with vaccine institute

By Baek Byung-yeul

The Korea Ginseng Corporation (KGC) signed an agreement with the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), the company said Monday to develop immunity boosting products using ginseng.

The company said it held a signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the IVI at Seoul National University, Dec. 3, between its CEO Kim Jae-soo and IVI Director-General Jerome Kim.

Under the agreement, the KGC and IVI will jointly develop immunity boosters, taking advantage of KGC's Cheong Kwan Jang ginseng products. KGC said immunity boosters are substances that enhance the immune response via the introduction of antigens and they are needed when developing vaccines.

Through the MOU, KGC will provide 12 kinds of ginsenosides contained in Cheong Kwan Jang's red ginseng products to the IVI and the vaccine research institution is expected to study the ginseng ingredients to determine if they can be used effectively as an immunity booster,” KGC said.

“As part of our strategy to develop immunity boosters which are required for various kinds of vaccines, such as for COVID-19, we will conduct studies into red ginseng's immunity boosting effect,” Song Man-ki, the IVI's deputy director-general of science, said.

Park Chae-kyu, head of KGC's R&D division, said the company “expects the value of red ginseng will increase if the red ginseng substances of Cheong Kwan Jang are used for developing vaccines.”

Headquartered in Seoul, the IVI is a non-profit organization, dedicated to the study, development and distribution of vaccines. To cope with the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, the organization has been closely working with vaccine developers across the world to develop a COVID-19 vaccine.