READDI to partner with South Korea’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases, NIH, KDCA
The two groups will collaborate on the discovery and development of innovative antiviral therapies for virus pathogens of pandemic concern.
By READDI, March 17, 2025 —The Rapidly Emerging Antiviral Drug Development Initiative (READDI) is embarking on a collaborative research partnership with the Korea National Institute of Infectious Diseases (KNIID), part of the National Institute of Health (NIH) within the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
READDI CEO James Rosen and Dr. Joo-Yeon Lee, Director of the KNIID’s Center for Emerging Virus Research, signed a Letter of Intent in Osong, Korea, on Feb. 28. Working together, the two groups will focus on the discovery and development of innovative antiviral therapies for emerging viral disease, including pathogens of pandemic concern.
“Deadly viruses do not respect national boundaries. That’s why we need a well-coordinated global preparedness and response system to achieve the vision of health for all humanity,” said Rosen, who traveled to Osong with READDI Co-founders and Scientific Advisers Drs. Nat Moorman and Mark Heise. “We look forward to fostering mutual growth and cooperation through our joint research and development efforts.”
The KNIID’s Center for Emerging Virus Research seeks to enable core technologies and research capacities for the prevention and control of emerging and re-emerging viral infectious diseases. The Center aims to fortify a commercialization-linked framework for product development by leveraging secured candidate compounds. In addition, in order to develop therapeutics for rapid responses to future viral pandemics, the Center supports research on therapeutic compounds targeting high-risk pathogens, which are challenging for the private sector to address independently.
“The partnership between these two groups helps expand international cooperation to strengthen viral infection research, which is a strategic priority of both parties,” says Dr. Lee. “We look forward to fostering close cooperation in the development of antiviral therapeutics that will enhance global infectious disease preparedness and response.”
Deadly viruses do not respect national boundaries. That’s why we need a well-coordinated global preparedness and response system to achieve the vision of health for all humanity.”
Rosen first met Dr. Lee and her colleagues in November 2024 while attending the Research Investment for Global Health Technology (RIGHT) Foundation’s Annual Forum as an invited speaker. The Forum was aligned with the 2024 World Bio Summit, co-hosted by Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare and the World Health Organization. The RIGHT Foundation, established in 2018, is the first international public-private partnership funding agency in Korea, dedicated to supporting global health R&D with the goal of improving global health equity through a three-way partnership between the Government of Korea, the Gates Foundation and Korean Life Science companies.
Following the RIGHT Foundation Forum, Dr. Lee and two staff scientists, Drs. Jeong-Sun Yang and Hee-Yeong Lim, visited the READDI offices in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park. They also toured the UNC-Chapel Hill laboratories of READDI’s founders, where they held in-depth discussions regarding their shared research interests.
“I’m excited about this partnership because it combines READDI’s experience in discovering new antiviral drugs with the KNIID’s advanced capabilities and extensive experience in managing a wide range of high-priority viral pathogens,” says Moorman.
READDI is a public-private partnership with an ambitious mission: to develop antiviral drugs for everyone in the world, when and where they need them. To do this, READDI focuses on broad-spectrum small-molecule drugs that can be taken by mouth, with a drink of water, even in low-resource settings. These drugs reduce viral disease and death, ease hospital overcrowding and slow viral spread. READDI’s antiviral drugs also benefit the hundreds of millions of people who are unwilling or unable to get vaccinated.
READDI leads a network of global collaborators — research institutions, government agencies, NGOs, philanthropies and industry partners. READDI is actively developing virus family working groups to align priorities around the most pressing therapeutic needs. And it is designing a virtual antiviral R&D hub to give the global network of collaborators shared access to reagents, assays and data.