“We are pleased to support the medical research, the prevention and treatment of disease, education and public health activities in South Korea by joining forces with Institute Pasteur ” said Philippe Reynieix, Head of Territory of BNP Paribas Korea who has recently signed a sponsorship agreement in order to support medical research on infectious diseases.

Although BNP Paribas is an established sponsor of Institute Pasteur in about 29 countries, this is the first time that an agreement was signed in South Korea.

Founded only 5 years ago, Institute Pasteur Korea is one of the newest such institutes in the world. In 2004 the Institute of Science and Technology in Seoul decided to join forces with the French Institute Pasteur, founding a joint program under the slogan “From the genome to medication” providing a unique platform for interdisciplinary research combining biology, chemistry, and technology.

“This is the first donation which Institut Pasteur Korea has ever received. We express our gratitude at this generous contribution to the fight against diseases and the advancement of the drug discovery” said Ulf Nehrbass, Director of Institut Pasteur Korea.

The donation  will be used for funding PhenomicScreen technology.  This first-of-a-class invention  increases the chances of success and significantly reduces the time of drug discovery. 

In May 2009 Institut Pasteur Korea will also open the independent institute at Pangyo, Kyunggi, further accelerating researches and technologies for the drug discovery.

“We will make efforts in contributing to the world’s healthcare improvement and the acceleration of medication discovery in South Korea by taking full advantage of our innovative technology,” added Ulf Nehrbass.