Researchers who follow their instincts and achieve slow results while trying to break barriers have little support. They replace it with persistence. This is the story of Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman. What was once a dream in their minds was later a success. Their work together for decades was essential to achieving mRNA vaccines, and their perseverance was rewarded today with the 2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine.
Phylex Biosciences Inc. has announced plans to pursue the development of a nanoparticle mRNA vaccine against the Nipah virus. Last year, the company published proof of principle for its second-generation nanoparticle mRNA vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 delta virus.
Transimmune AG has been awarded a $5 million investment from the Bill & Melinda Gates Strategic Investment Fund that will be used to leverage Transimmune’s physiologically induced dendritic cells (phDCs) to enhance the potency of mRNA vaccines in infectious diseases. The initial focus will be on a therapeutic vaccine for people with HIV.
Biontech SE and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) have established a strategic partnership to advance mRNA-based vaccine candidates with the development of BNT-166 for the prevention of mpox (formerly monkeypox).
Lemonex Inc. announced that the IND application for its mRNA vaccine candidate LEM-mR203 has been approved by the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) on July 21, 2023. The company plans to evaluate LEM-mR203 as potential treatment for COVID-19, with the planned phase I clinical trial being designed to assess its safety and immunogenicity in healthy adults at Seoul National University Hospital, Korea.
An mRNA vaccine candidate that acts in the liver by recruiting memory T cells could be the key against malaria, according to a study in mice that demonstrated its efficacy by including a natural killer T (NKT) cell agonist.
Defence Therapeutics Inc. says it has successfully established a strategy conjugating mRNA molecules to Accum, the company’s core technology that enables precision delivery of vaccine antigens or antibody-drug conjugates in their intact form to target cells.
CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd.’s COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, SYS-6006, has been included for emergency use by the NMPA, the company said on March 22, marking the first domestically developed COVID-19 mRNA vaccine approved for use in China.
