Dx&Vx advances to phase 2 of Korean ARPA-H project with room-temperature mRNA platform

Dx&Vx, a new drug development and diagnostics company, announced that the consortium in which it participates, led by POSTECH, has passed the Phase 1 performance evaluation of the Ministry of Health and Welfare's “Korean ARPA-H Project” and has been selected for continued support in phase 2.

The Korean ARPA-H (Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health) is a high-risk, high-reward innovation R&D initiative promoted by the government to solve challenging problems with significant ripple effects in the healthcare sector upon success, even if the risk of failure is high.

Advancing to phase 2 is seen as recognition of the consortium's competitiveness in terms of technological maturity and feasibility among the many consortia participating in Phase 1. This is particularly significant as it suggests Dx&Vx's mRNA room-temperature stabilization technology could become a core element of future national vaccine stockpiling strategies.

During Phase 1 research, Dx&Vx conducted stability evaluations on its mRNA platform utilizing proprietary nucleic acid stabilization technology. As a result, simulation data confirmed that 99.9 percent stability could be maintained for over 18 months at room temperature (25°C) and for over seven years under refrigerated conditions (4°C).

This is viewed as providing a technological foundation capable of overcoming the structural limitations of existing mRNA vaccine distribution, which has relied on ultra-low temperature (-20°C to -70°C) cold chains. If commercialized, this technology is expected to enable vaccine supply even in regions with insufficient power infrastructure and to help reduce vaccine stockpiling and operational costs during national emergencies, the company explained.

Dx&Vx aims for a business model similar to that of global pharmaceutical companies, expanding diverse pipelines through a single platform. The two Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs) signed with global biotech companies are presented as evidence of the technical and commercial value of this mRNA platform.

Furthermore, this technology has been selected as a presentation topic for the “World Vaccine Congress 2026,” the world's largest vaccine conference, to be held in Washington, D.C., in March. A poster presentation is scheduled for the first day of the main congress. The company anticipates significant global academic and industry interest in its mRNA room-temperature stabilization technology following this presentation at a top-tier international conference.

Dx&Vx said it plans to leverage this ARPA-H phase 2 selection to focus on establishing a technology commercialization strategy, securing intellectual property (IP), and building GMP production processes under government support through 2028.

“This selection is a meaningful achievement, signifying official government recognition of our technology's potential for commercialization beyond the research stage,” Dx&Vx CEO Kwon Kyu-chan said. “Based on our secured platform competitiveness, we will accelerate technology transfer (license-out) negotiations with global partners and contribute to establishing national vaccine sovereignty.”