Tumors are just one of the applications. We are also working on vaccines for malaria and tuberculosis
The biopharmaceutical company BioNTechco-founded by Özlem Türeci and Ugur Sahin (the names behind the anti Covid vaccine with Pfizer), is working to create the first messenger RNA-based cancer vaccines. They will come by 2040 but maybe before. This means that if ongoing trials are successful, these vaccines could be available as early as 2030. The two researchers explained that the mRNA technology used in anti-Covid vaccines could also be effective in the fight against tumors, since in both cases there is a dysfunction of the immune system to the base.
mRNA vaccines: how do they work?
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mRNA vaccines are a relatively recent technology that exploits the natural mechanism of protein synthesis for stimulate the immune response; to date they have been used mainly against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, responsible for the COVID-19 disease. These vaccines contain a synthetic mRNA sequence that codes for a protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, in particular the spike protein, the one that the virus uses to attach itself to human cells and infect them. When the vaccine is injected into the arm muscle, the mRNA is released inside the body’s cells and used as a template to produce the spike protein of the virus, which is then exposed on their surface or released into the blood. The spike protein is unable to cause infection, but is recognized as foreign by the immune system, which activates itself to produce specific antibodies and T lymphocytes against it. In this way, the body learns to defend itself against the virus without ever meeting him. Compared to traditional vaccines, which use inactivated or attenuated viruses or virus fragments to induce immunity, mRNA vaccines are easier and faster to produce, because they do not require the cultivation of the virus in the laboratory or in animals. Also, they are more versatile and adaptable, because they can be easily modified by changing the mRNA sequence according to the virus variants that emerge over time. So much so that they can also be used for many other diseases, including tumours, malaria and tuberculosis.
big hopes
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mRna vaccines have demonstrated their effectiveness against Covid-19, but they can also be applied to other infectious diseases or cancer. For the malariawe will need to create a vaccine that induces the immune system to neutralize the Plasmodium parasiteresponsible for the disease. The advantage is that this vaccine can be engineered to express different parasite proteins, thereby increasing the coverage and duration of protection. Some preclinical studies have shown promising results and human trials are expected to begin very soon. For the tuberculosis, it is a question of enhancing the effect of the existing vaccine (BCG) with an mRna vaccine expressing a protein of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacterium. This could improve the immune response as well prevent latent or active infections. Finally, for cancer, it will be necessary to develop therapeutic vaccines that stimulate the immune system a recognize and destroy cancer cells. mRNA vaccines can be customized based on the tumor genetic profile of each patient, making them more effective and less toxic. The first mRNA cancer vaccines are expected to be available very early. Türeci and Sahin, who recently received the Feltrinelli 2023 international prize for medicine, are currently at the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei for the award ceremony. “If the trials underway give positive results and confirm the efficacy of mRna vaccines also for cancer”, they explained, the first treatments could arrive between 2030 and 2040”.
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