OSANG Healthcare announced on the 7th that it has been selected as a joint research institution for the "support project for the research and development of sexually transmitted infection diagnostics" by the RIGHT Foundation.
The selected research project focuses on the point-of-care molecular diagnostic technology (POC-MDx) that OSANG Healthcare is currently pursuing as a new business. OSANG Healthcare will collaborate with Professor Jung Gi-hoon's research team from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and the NANO Institute for three years, receiving 2.16 billion won from the RIGHT Foundation to develop a product for sexually transmitted infections based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) gene amplification technology.
The RIGHT Foundation is an international health technology research fund co-funded by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Korean biotechnology companies. It supports the development of technologies such as vaccines, treatments, and medical devices for the diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases in low- and middle-income countries.
Especially in these countries with underdeveloped healthcare infrastructures, sexually transmitted infections such as chlamydia (CT) and gonorrhea (NG) are causing complications like miscarriages, premature birth, and low birth weight in pregnant women. However, due to a lack of medical resources and social awareness, early diagnosis and treatment are difficult, making it essential to have products that allow for affordable and rapid diagnosis.
The official name of this research project is "Development of point-of-care molecular diagnostics for sexually transmitted infections (NG·CT) utilizing plasmonic photothermal real-time PCR techniques." The goal is to develop a sexually transmitted infection testing product based on plasmonic photothermal PCR to contribute to international public health.
An OSANG Healthcare official noted, "Photothermal PCR technology is the closest domestic companies have come to commercialization," adding, "we will integrate our freeze-drying technology to launch the world's best point-of-care molecular diagnostic device."
Professor Jung Gi-hoon's research team at KAIST stated, "Since 2020, we have been developing this technology in collaboration with OSANG Healthcare, and we will do our best with OSANG Healthcare to successfully complete this project and achieve a quick product launch."