Can mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines be used to cure cancer?

One of the scientists behind the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine – the first widely approved immunization for the novel coronavirus – says the technology companies are using could be applied to treat another deadly disease – cancer. Ozlem Tureci co-founded the German company BioNTech at his side. husband in the late 2000s. BioNTech had, for years, been developing a way to fight cancer and eliminate tumors – technology they steered towards defeating the novel coronavirus. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, called BNT162b2, is based on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, which uses a chemical. messenger to instruct cells to make proteins that mimic the outer surface of the new coronavirus, thereby creating immunity. MRNA is based on synthetic genes that can be generated and made in weeks, and produced on a large scale faster than conventional vaccines. The new technology was the first to be approved for a COVID-19 vaccine; Pfizer and BioNTech have already started working together to develop influenza vaccines based on the mRNA technology they incorporated into BNT162b2. The Israeli population is highly dependent on the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and has administered at least one dose of COVID- mRNA. 19 to more than 5 million people. Israeli citizens. Tens of millions of other doses have been administered around the world. “It pays to make bold decisions and have the confidence that if you have an amazing team, you will be able to resolve any issues and obstacles that come your way in real time,” Tureci told The Associated Press.

Although there has been a clear air of reluctance to vaccinate – reluctance or unwillingness to be vaccinated – among the world’s populations, Teluci told the AP that “no corner has been cut” nor that the stone was not left unturned during the race to develop a vaccine. rigid process in place and the process doesn’t stop after a vaccine is approved, ”Teluci told AP. “In fact, this is now continuing all over the world, where regulators have used notification systems to track and assess any observations made with our vaccines or others.” As Teluci noted, the success of the mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines facilitates the use of the new technology not only in other vaccines, but possibly as a treatment for cystic fibrosis, cancer and disease. other diseases that are difficult to treat. The two vaccines used by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are based on mRNA technology. say mRNA has the potential to target diseases that cannot be reached by conventional drugs.The technology is often compared to the operating system on a computer, allowing drugmakers to change their target by inserting new code genetics in a manufactured form of mRNA, a natural messenger chemical that instructs the body to produce specific proteins. Its advantage in vaccines is versatility and speed over standard technology requiring long lead times to produce and purify proteins and creat More than 150 mRNA vaccines and therapeutics are in development around the world, Roots Analysis said. Most are still in the early animal testing phase, but more than 30 have reached human testing. RNA can be very difficult to work with, making future treatment success uncertain. diseases. Its most advanced non-COVID program is a vaccine against cytomegalovirus, the leading cause of birth defects in the United States. Drew Weissman, professor of infectious diseases at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, is one of two scientists credited with a breakthrough discovery in 2005 on how to alter the molecular structure of mRNA to keep it stable enough to exceed the body’s defenses. Over the past nine months, Weissman said 20 companies working in the mRNA field have asked him to join their board of directors, and the number of labs asking to collaborate with Penn on mRNA work has almost triple.

Reuters contributed to this report.