German biotech company
BioNTech founder said in an interview that an mRNA cancer vaccine could be in use by 2030, according to the Guardian newspaper. They said they were optimistic about the development of
the mRNA cancer vaccine in the coming years, based on the breakthroughs it has made.|
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While the mRNA vaccine is a new vaccine technology that is only being applied for the first time in the new crown epidemic, the cancer vaccine is not a new concept and it is worth noting that the cancer vaccine in question is not a vaccine for prevention like the cervical cancer vaccine, but a therapeutic vaccine.
In an interview with the BBC, Turesi described how the mRNA technology used for the New Crown vaccine was repurposed to boost the immune system to attack cancer cells. During the New Crown pandemic, BIOTEK was able to learn more about how the human immune system responds to mRNA vaccines and, in addition, how to produce mRNA vaccines with greater efficiency. On the other hand, the urgency of vaccine development in the New Coronation pandemic has prompted national drug regulatory authorities to improve the approval process for vaccines and, as a result, mRNA cancer vaccines will be available more quickly.
Biotek is a German biotech company best known for its mRNA New Crown vaccine in collaboration with Pfizer. It is also developing effective immunotherapies for the treatment of serious diseases in specific patients. The company's mRNA cancer vaccine, mainly in combination with PD-L1 antibodies for the treatment of advanced cancers in collaboration with Roche, is currently in Phase II clinical trials.
Cancer vaccines are considered as a new type of tumour treatment after chemotherapy, radiotherapy, cellular and immunotherapy, and have been a hot spot for research and development in the oncology field in recent years. According to data from Pharmsnap, the global new drug intelligence repository of Smart Buds, the top-ranked indication for the number of mRNA vaccines currently in development remains the new crown vaccine. However, the number of vaccines in development for oncology, especially solid tumour indications, follows closely behind, reaching 18 in China alone.
Cancer vaccines are not used for prophylaxis, only for curative purposes. Cancer vaccines will be used mainly for cancer patients who have undergone chemotherapy or tumour removal surgery to prevent their cancer from recurring. In fact, only one preventive cancer vaccine, the cervical cancer vaccine, has been approved for marketing worldwide, while most of the other cancer vaccines in development are therapeutic vaccines.
Cancer vaccines have been a major area of research in mRNA technology. The principle of cancer vaccines is that some cancer cells have special mutations that contain antigens that can accurately identify the cancer cells and induce an immune response in the body. Scientists look for this antigen in cancer cells and then use mRNA technology to specifically activate the body's immune cells so that they can recognise and attack cancer cells containing this same antigen hidden in the body.
An important challenge before an mRNA cancer vaccine is that it is extremely difficult to target cancer cells without harming healthy tissue, as the cancer cells that make up the tumour may contain many different proteins. In addition, the immune system cannot reach all tumour sites because tumours are so cunning and can escape the immune system.
The difficulty in developing cancer vaccines is that different cancer patients do not have the same specific antigens that accurately identify the cancer cells and induce an immune response in the body, and even if a cancer vaccine is available, it may not be available to all patients. However, with the rapid development of high-throughput sequencing, the process of screening for cancer cells will now be accelerated and mRNA technology will be able to unleash its power in the cancer field in the future.
On 12 October, Moderna, another well-known mRNA vaccine company, announced a partnership with Merck Sharp & Dohme to develop the former's personalised tumour vaccine mRNA-4157, with Merck Sharp & Dohme paying US$250 million and the two companies sharing the costs and benefits equally in the subsequent development. Moderna and Merck Sharp & Dohme are also currently working together on mRNA-4157, which is also in Phase II clinical trials.