MRNA

Researchers working on a personalized mRNA cancer vaccine for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), a deadly form of pancreatic cancer, used gene sequencing from tumor samples of 19 patients to create customized mRNA vaccines, targeting up to 20 neoantigens. The research indicated that in half the patients, the vaccine triggered the activation of T cells that recognized their specific pancreatic cancer. Post-treatment, cancer recurrence was not observed in patients with a strong T cell response to the vaccine, even…

A woman receives a booster dose of the Moderna coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at a vaccination centre in Antwerp, Belgium, February 1, 2022.Johanna Geron | ReutersPatients are now enrolling in an early stage clinical trial to test a universal flu vaccine based on messenger RNA technology, the National Institutes of Health announced Monday. Scientists hope the vaccine will protect against a wide variety of flu strains and provide long-term immunity so people do not have to receive a shot every year.  related…

It’s still very early days, but the race to develop the first safe and effective mRNA-based influenza vaccine is gathering momentum. The latest move sees a Phase 1 trial at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, get under way, testing the safety and immune response of H1ssF-3928 mRNA-LNP, developed by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases’ (NIAID) Vaccine Research Center (VRC).Some 50 participants aged 18-49 will be split into three groups and given 10, 25 and 50 micrograms of the active drug,…

Moderna's sign is seen outside of their headquarters in Cambridge, MA on March 11, 2021.Boston Globe | Getty ImagesModerna on Thursday blew past estimates for first-quarter earnings and revenue, posting a surprise quarterly profit, despite lower demand for Covid vaccines, its only marketable product.The biotech company generated first-quarter sales of $1.9 billion, driven by Covid shot revenue deferred from 2022. That's down more than 30% from the $6.1 billion it recorded in the same period a year ago amid a resurgence of…

Scientists said Monday they have developed the first mobile printer that can produce thumbnail-sized patches able to deliver mRNA Covid vaccines, hoping the tabletop device will help immunise people in remote regions.While many hurdles remain and the 3D printer is likely years away from becoming available, experts hailed the "exciting" finding.The device prints two-centimetre-wide patches which each contain hundreds of tiny needles that administer a vaccine when pressed against the skin.These "microneedle patches" offer a…

Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesModerna and IBM are teaming up to use generative artificial intelligence and quantum computing to advance mRNA technology, the development at the core of the company's blockbuster Covid vaccine, the companies announced Thursday. "We are excited to partner with IBM to develop novel AI models to advance mRNA science, prepare ourselves for the era of quantum computing, and ready our business for these game-changing technologies," Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said in a statement.Moderna…

Moderna Inc.’s cancer vaccine helped prevent relapse for melanoma patients, results from a midstage trial showed, demonstrating progress in the pursuit of shots to ward off cancer by jump-starting the immune system.  About 79% of high-risk melanoma patients who got Moderna’s personalized vaccine and Merck & Co.’s immunotherapy Keytruda were alive and cancer-free at 18 months, compared with about 62% of patients who received immunotherapy alone, researchers said Sunday. The 157-person trial…

More treatments – and faster-acting treatments – for peanut allergies are urgently needed, and a new study outlines a promising drug technology based around a tiny nanoparticle just a few billionths of a meter in size.In tests on mice, the nanoparticle reversed peanut allergies and prevented them from developing in the first place. If the same response is triggered in humans, it could change the lives of millions of people.At the center of the treatment is a protein fragment called an epitope; it's specially designed as…

Peanut and tree nut allergies affect around three million Americans, yet there’s only one approved treatment and it only tackles its severity. And despite the amount of research behind finding a way to counter, or cure, this often deadly condition, there's been only glimmers of hope for sufferers.But a major breakthrough might be around the corner, with scientists from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) testing a world-first mRNA medicine packaged up in tiny nanoparticles that not only reversed peanut…

Engineers at MIT and the University of Massachusetts Medical School have designed a new type of nanoparticle that can be administered to the lungs, where it can deliver messenger RNA encoding useful proteins. Credit: iStock, edited by MIT NewsUsing these <span class="glossaryLink" aria-describedby="tt" data-cmtooltip="<div class=glossaryItemTitle>RNA</div><div class=glossaryItemBody>Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a polymeric molecule similar to DNA that is essential in various…