Last Year, 404 Heads of Animal Life Resources Distributed 'Record High'... "Contributing to R&D Advancement"

15.3% Increase in Distribution Performance Compared to 2023
Industrial Sector 58.9%, Academia 30.4%, National and Public Research Institutes 10.6%

Last year, the distribution performance of veterinary biological resources reached an all-time high. The Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency announced on the 3rd that the Korea Veterinary Culture Collection (KVCC) distributed 136 cases and a total of 404 veterinary biological resources in 2024, achieving a record high performance with a 15.3% increase compared to 118 cases in 2023.

More than half of the resources distributed last year, 58.9%, went to industrial sectors. A quarantine agency official stated, "This is due to the increased demand for commercialization-focused research such as vaccine development, therapeutic research, and advanced diagnostic technology." Additionally, academia accounted for 30.4%, and national and public research institutes 10.6%, indicating that a balanced distribution service is being provided for both academic research and public R&D projects."

Since its establishment at the Quarantine Agency in 2008, KVCC has cumulatively secured a total of 11,212 veterinary biological resources. The number of annual distributions continues to increase steadily.

Alongside this, the Quarantine Agency is seeking ways to enhance capabilities through cooperation with various banks by participating in the "Multi-Ministry National Microbial Bank Academic Exchange Meeting (Symposium)" to exchange knowledge and build networks for microbial resource management among domestic microbial banks. Furthermore, to increase the diversity of veterinary biological resources and their utilization as industrial materials, the agency plans to expand the number of veterinary biological resource service management institutions from the current three to five by 2025. Through this, it aims to strengthen the collection capacity of diverse resources and enhance the support system so that researchers nationwide can receive more valuable resources.

KVCC has also been steadily publishing its own research achievements. For example, on the 17th, it jointly filed a patent with an industrial company for an immune enhancer and immuno-oncology agent using bacteria isolated from roe deer and water deer. Additionally, last year at the Korean Veterinary Medical Association International Conference, it presented research investigating the characteristics of bacteria derived from dogs.

Cho Yoon-sang, head of the Virus Disease Division at the Quarantine Agency, said, "Although we achieved the highest distribution performance ever in 2024, we will not be complacent and will collect, analyze, and preserve more resources to contribute to the activation of industry-academia-research R&D." He added, "We will continue to stably supply core veterinary biological resources necessary for the development of customized domestic quarantine technologies and the strengthening of competitiveness in the veterinary life industry."