mRNA is a of the first molecules of life. Although it was identified six decades ago as the carrier of the protein model in living cells, its pharmaceutical potential has long been underestimated. The mRNA looked unpromising – too unstable, too low in potency, and too inflammatory.
Success development of the first mRNA vaccines against Covid-19 in 2020 was an unprecedented feat in the history of medicine. This success has been built on iterative progress over decades, spurred by independent contributions from scientists around the world.
We fell in love with mRNA in the 90s because of its versatility, its ability to boost the immune system and its safety profile: after performing its biological task, the molecule completely degrades, leaving no traces in the body. We have discovered ways to exponentially improve the properties of mRNA, increasing its stability and efficiency, as well as its ability to deliver it to the right immune cells in the body. These advances have allowed us to create effective mRNA vaccines that, when given in small amounts to humans, elicit powerful immune responses. Additionally, we have established rapid and scalable processes to manufacture new candidate vaccines for clinical application within weeks. The result was the mRNA breakthrough in the fight against Covid-19.
The potential of mRNA vaccines goes beyond the coronavirus. We now want to use this technology to fight two of the world’s oldest and deadliest pathogens: malaria and tuberculosis. Worldwide, there are approximately 10 million new cases of tuberculosis each year. For malaria, the medical needs are even greater: around 230 million cases of malaria were reported in the WHO Africa region in 2020, with most deaths occurring in children under 5 years of age.
The convergence of medical advances – from next-generation sequencing to technologies for characterizing immune responses on large datasets – strengthens our ability to discover ideal vaccine targets. Science has also made progress in understanding how malaria and tuberculosis pathogens hide and evade the immune system, providing information on how to fight them.
The ongoing revolution in computational protein structure prediction enables the modeling of three-dimensional protein structures. This helps us decipher which regions of these proteins are optimal targets for vaccine development.
One of the beauties of mRNA technology is that it allows us to quickly test hundreds of vaccine targets. Additionally, we can combine multiple mRNAs, each coding for a different pathogen antigen, into a single vaccine. For the first time, it has become possible for an mRNA-based vaccine to teach the human immune system to fight against multiple vulnerable targets of a pathogen. In 2023, we plan to initiate clinical trials for the first mRNA vaccine candidates against malaria and tuberculosis that combine known and novel targets. If successful, this effort can change the way we prevent these diseases and can contribute to their eradication.
Medical innovations can only make a difference to people around the world when they are available globally. mRNA production is complex and involves tens of thousands of steps, making technology transfer resource-intensive, time-consuming, and error-prone. To overcome this bottleneck, we have developed a high-tech solution called BioNTainer, a modular and deliverable mRNA fabrication facility. This innovation could support decentralized and scalable vaccine production worldwide by leapfrogging towards automated, digitized and scalable mRNA manufacturing capability. We expect the first installation to be operational in Rwanda in 2023.
We anticipate that 2023 will bring us these important milestones and others that could help shape a healthier future, a future that can build on the potential of mRNA and its promise to democratize access to innovative medicines. Now is the time to drive that change.
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