FIND deepens ties with the Republic of Korea to promote R&D and improve access to testing in low- and middle-income countries

FIND announced today that two memoranda of understanding (MOUs) have been signed to deepen the existing relationship between FIND and the Republic of Korea, in pursuit of shared goals for diagnostic innovation, with a focus on increasing access to testing in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

An MOU between FIND and the RIGHT Foundation, signed during the RIGHT Foundation’s fifth-anniversary forum in Seoul last week, will support investments in diagnostic platforms and rapid tests, as well as digital and other tools that can help expand access to testing in LMICs. The RIGHT Foundation is a three-way partnership between the government of Korea, Korean life science companies, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, catalysing collaborations between Korean and international researchers, product developers and public health workers to develop essential health technologies that can improve health and health equity globally.

It follows signature of an MOU between FIND and the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), at a co-hosted event on the side-lines of the BioKorea conference that took place in Seoul last month, which centres on supporting the diagnostics industry in the Republic of Korea to meet global health needs. KHIDI is a government-affiliated institute that aims to enhance the competence of the national health industry and improve public health.

Both MOUs leverage Korean capacity to make high-quality tests at scale, established sales and distribution channels for LMICs, and experience with global health donors and regulatory agencies – important capabilities that complement product development and delivery partnerships such as FIND.

Marta Fernández Suárez, FIND Chief Technology Officer, said: “Korea is a global leader with clear opportunity to shape healthcare and health systems in emerging markets. Our track record of collaboration includes enabling cheap and easy rapid tests for sleeping sickness screening that have been pivotal to disease elimination in several countries, COVID-19 rapid antigen tests for both professional use and self-testing, point-of-care molecular multiplex tests, and expanded access to blood glucose test strips. We are excited to see what we can achieve together as we take this next important step with our Korean partners.”