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Development of mRNA Vaccines

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Platform Adaptability Helps Combat Diseases 

While DNA serves as the blueprint for life, mRNA (Messenger Ribonucleic Acid) is the instructions for cells to express different proteins. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was used in mRNA vaccines to prompt the body’s immune system to produce a specific antigen and effectively combat the virus. Today, it is also being used in the development of vaccines in combatting H5N1. 

First discovered in the 1990s, there have been on-going initial trials with several disease states, including infectious disease and cancer therapeutics. This built a body of work that demonstrated the safety and efficacy of the technology so that by the time the pandemic hit, the platform for quick development of a vaccine using the technology was already in place.  

The use of messenger RNA (mRNA) is now driving the next generation of vaccine development. A naturally-occurring molecule in the body’s cells, mRNA carries genetic information from DNA to create various proteins and drive cell functions. When infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus hijacks this cell machinery to make more virus, which then makes us sick. Scientists have borrowed from this approach when designing vaccines to combat the virus—using it to fight fire with fire—or mRNA with mRNA. Read more about how mRNA is used in development of vaccines in our blog “Fighting Fire With Fire.”  

In Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
The pandemic then pushed the necessity of a vaccine platform that could be developed and delivered quickly, effectively, and safely. Once the SARS-CoV-2 sequence was available, researchers used the existing mRNA platform. Because of the pressing and dire need at that time, the Department of Health and Human Services stood up Operation Warp Speed to then bring vaccines and therapeutics to market as quickly as possible. Their fast development and delivery likely helped spare many people from getting sick and saved millions of lives.  

Existing vaccine applications are continuously improved to increase the breadth and duration of immunity, enabling the vaccine to combat virus strains and their variants as they evolve over time. Rather than being vaccinated for the same virus each year, by improving the vaccine’s interaction with the immune system, the immune response will be longer lasting. And as the virus does evolve, a broad immune response can help neutralize its impact.  

At MRIGlobal, we specialize in the development of animal models to help determine how viruses like SARS-CoV-2 act so we can then test the efficacy and safety of vaccines and therapeutics to counter them. 

 

Interested in hearing more about how the mRNA platform can help develop vaccines for diseases like H5N1? Listen to this episode of “Science Diction”! 

Adaptability of the Platform to Combat Other Diseases
Because the platform is very adaptable, it can be used to target viruses, cancers, and infectious disease agents in humans and animals. In fact, following decades of research and innovation, mRNA vaccines are now arriving to the clinical trial stage for various solid tumors and other cancers, as well as infectious diseases like Influenza A and rabies. 

These and other vaccines have the potential to be applied in developed countries like the United States and Europe, as well as the developing world across large parts of Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America where vaccination rates are still very low. Disseminating vaccine technologies in those areas of the world can help combat not only diseases like SARS-CoV-2, but also other infectious diseases and vector borne diseases like West Nile, yellow fever, and malaria. The latter has likely killed billions of people over the course of human history and continues to do so. A vaccine hasn’t yet been developed because there are so many different Plasmodium strains and so many strains of the parasite that cause malaria, and they mutate constantly, so they’re very difficult to study. A vaccine platform like mRNA that is quick, nimble, and can adapt to it could benefit the malaria response. Read more about malaria and its spread due to climate change in the blog “Malaria Finds its Way to the U.S. Again.”  

Use in Combatting H5N1

H5N1 is now impacting populations of poultry, waterfowl, dairy cows, wild mammals, and even farmworkers. Read more about H5N1 on our blog “How Bad is H5N1?” Because the virus has the potential to disrupt the food supply chain, cause severe human illness, and even cause a pandemic, development of vaccines using the mRNA platform is critical. Borrowing from the approach used to develop a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2, there is now progress on an initiative to accelerate the development of mRNA vaccines for avian influenza (H5N1).  

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