Thailand’s National Vaccine Institute (NVI) has partnered with the US Vaccine Research Center (VRC) to develop new vaccines against tuberculosis (TB), including advances in messenger RNA (mRNA) technology.
Senior officials from the Ministry of Public Health, led by Deputy Permanent Secretary Pongkasem Kaimook, recently visited the VRC, which has developed 15 vaccine types for various diseases, including COVID-19, Ebola, and Zika fever. Thailand’s Department of Medical Sciences and NVI have committed to working with the VRC to create a new type of TB vaccine using mRNA technology.
The collaboration aims to achieve vaccine security in Thailand by producing locally-researched mRNA vaccines, with the VRC also offering Thai researchers the opportunity to join international TB control and research networks in order to further contribute to global efforts.
In addition to TB vaccines, Thailand plans to research four other vaccine types using mRNA technology. The kingdom has also been working on the Genomics Thailand Strategy Roadmap (2022-2025) to develop genomic medicine. Over 50,000 genomic information records of patients with rare diseases or cancers have been collected over the years, as well as the establishment of the Cancer Genetics Clinic. The Department of Medical Sciences (DMSc) has included genomic medicine in the universal health scheme and aims to have 725 medical staff working in these fields by 2024.
The Ministry of Public Health will also develop a genomic medicine research network to collect genomic information for treatment improvement and data analysis. The U.S. National Human Genome Research Institute will then provide training for genomic code analysis during the International Conference of the Genetics Society of Thailand. (NNT)
