Nobel Prize in Medicine for the 'fathers' of the mRNA vaccine against Covid
The Nobel Assembly of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm has awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology to the 'fathers' of mRNA vaccines against Covid, Katalin Karikó (Szolnok, Hungary, 1955) and Drew Weissman (Lexington, USA, 1959 ).
“Through their groundbreaking findings, which have fundamentally changed our understanding of how messenger RNA interacts with our immune system, the awardees have contributed to the development at unprecedented speed of a vaccine against one of the greatest threats to humanity in modern times,” highlighted the jury.
Unlike 'conventional' vaccines, which use weakened or inactivated pathogens to stimulate the immune system to learn to locate and destroy that 'enemy', mRNA vaccines take advantage of our cellular machinery to make them our own. cells that produce proteins identical to those carried by viruses on the surface, so that the immune system trains and learns to recognize them so that it is prepared in case an infection occurs.
This innovative technology that had never before been used in the development of a vaccine – and on which the Pfizer and Moderna Covid vaccines are based – made it possible to change the course of the pandemic.
According to estimates made by scientists at Imperial College London, only in the 12 months between December 2020 and December 2021, the different vaccines that were developed against Covid prevented the death of about 20 million people around the world. .
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Vaccines that are based on weakened or inactivated pathogens or those that use 'pieces' of the microbe to 'teach' the immune system require lengthy development procedures, with large-scale cell cultures, which limits the possibility of responding quickly to a new epidemic.
However, mRNA vaccines, created through biotechnology, allow the desired genetic sequence to be adapted quickly and efficiently, speeding up the process.
It should be noted that the path to obtaining vaccines was not easy. As Katalin Karikó recently recalled in an interview with this newspaper, at first no one believed in the idea that technology based on messenger RNA could be useful for biomedicine.. Both scientists had previously been awarded recognitions such as the Princess of Asturias Award or the Frontiers of Knowledge in Biomedicine Award granted by the BBVA Foundation.
Drew Weissman: “When we had the sequence of the virus it took us only a few hours to generate the mRNA”
Jointly, Karikó and Weissman, both professors at the University of Pennsylvania (USA), developed methods of modifying messenger RNA to prevent its destruction by the human immune system, once introduced into the body, opening the possibility of using it as an agent therapeutic. Its use to develop Covid vaccines was its first clinical application, but its use is already being explored in other areas, such as cancer, HIV, influenza or malaria.
Reactions from the scientific community: “A well-deserved award”
For Mariano Esteban, head of the Poxvirus and Vaccines group at the National Center for Biotechnology (CSIC), it is “a well-deserved Nobel Prize for the relevance of the technology developed by both researchers on taking mRNA into a cell.” , increase its stability, encapsulate it in nanoparticles and achieve its application as an effective vaccine against infectious agents such as SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19.”
Its application also “opens the doors to its use against other pathologies such as cancer.”. As always happens in science, there are other researchers who could also have been part of the cast,” adds Esteban.
It is an example of the perseverance of researchers to continue with their work on mRNA, despite many refusals to fund it.
The director of the Coronavirus Laboratory of the National Center for Biotechnology (CSIC), Isabel Sola, points out that the award “is very deserved” since it “recognizes how basic research work by Kariko and Weissman around 2005 has allowed the development of a new class of mRNA vaccines that have saved millions of lives in the pandemic.”
“In my opinion it is an award for basic science and its application to solve real world problems. It is an example of the perseverance of researchers to continue with their work on mRNA, despite many refusals to fund it.. Although before 2020 there were already some attempts to use mRNA as a therapeutic molecule in gene therapy or cancer, finally the pandemic was the opportunity to apply it against a new pathogen. We have all known the success of the results firsthand,” adds the researcher.
Ignacio Melero, co-director of the Immunology and Immunotherapy Service at the Clínica Universidad de Navarra and senior researcher at CIMA, emphasizes that “it is a clearly well-deserved Nobel Prize since the mRNA vaccines that were based on its original concept have saved the West.” in the COVID pandemic”.
As always happens in science, there are other researchers who could also have been part of the cast.
“The development of vaccines based on mRNA instead of proteins or attenuated microorganisms had many obstacles that have required multiple biotechnological solutions.. These researchers were the pioneers without a doubt, but in the practical applications of mRNA vaccination there have been other researchers who would also deserve the award, among which we would prominently include both Ugur Sahin and Ozlem Turecci.. “In particular for the development of the necessary formulation of mRNA in lipid nanoparticles and for the rapid clinical development of the first effective COVID vaccine.”
For Melero, mRNA vaccines will probably transform the prevention of other infectious diseases for which we currently lack effective vaccines and are demonstrating their effectiveness in some types of cancer mainly to prevent recurrence after surgery.
Therapeutic use in cancer is valued by the National Cancer Research Center (CNIO) by Luis Álvarez Vallina, head of the Clinical Research Unit in Cancer Immunotherapy H12O-CNIO. “mRNA technology is the basis of the next revolution that we will experience in oncology, the development of personalized vaccines according to the specific mutational profile of each tumor. “The first clinical trials with mRNA vaccines in cancer are demonstrating enormous potential and the possibility of being combined with other immunotherapy strategies to improve patient survival very significantly.”.
The first clinical trials with mRNA vaccines in cancer are demonstrating enormous potential
And Vallina does not forget to mention that “the biochemist Karikó and the immunologist Weissman developed for the first time methods of modifying messenger RNA (mRNA) to avoid its immunogenicity, thus opening the door to the use of mRNA as a therapeutic tool”
For her part, Maite Huarte, director of the Division of DNA and RNA Therapies at CIMA University of Navarra, indicates that the awarding of the Nobel Prize to Karikó and Weissman is great news.. “The mRNA vaccine is a very clear example of how basic research translates into great advances in Medicine. I am especially happy for the recognition of Kataliln Karikó, who for a long time worked faithfully to her ideas despite not having the support of funding agencies or her own university.. “A well-deserved recognition of an advance that has opened the door to the development of many other vaccines and treatments based on RNA molecules.”
Other winners
Last year, the Swedish biologist Svante Pääbo (Stockholm, 1955) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his findings on human evolution and the sequencing of the genome of extinct species.
In 2021, the award went to scientists David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian for having been able to unravel the mechanisms that allow us to feel cold, heat, pressure or pain.
After the Medicine award, which opens the Nobel ceremony every year, the Physics award will follow on Tuesday, October 3, Chemistry on Wednesday the 4th and Literature on Thursday the 5th.. On Friday the 6th the Nobel Peace Prize will be awarded and, finally, the award for Economic Sciences will be announced on Monday the 9th.