mRNA Vaccines
Context:
- Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman, who developed the mRNA vaccine technology have been awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize on Medicine.
mRNA vaccination:
- An mRNA vaccine is a particular kind of vaccination that stimulates the immune system by using a duplicate of the messenger RNA (mRNA) molecule. Immune cells employ the antigen-encoding mRNA molecules that the vaccination gives to them as a template to make foreign proteins that would otherwise be produced by cancer cells or pathogens like viruses. These protein molecules trigger an immune response known as adaptive immunity, which trains the body to recognise and eliminate the associated infection or cancerous cells.
- A co-formulation of the RNA encased in lipid nanoparticles, which shield the RNA strands and facilitate their absorption into the cells, is used to deliver the mRNA.
2023’s Nobel Prize in Medicine:
- It recognises research that has produced advantages “for all mankind,” yet if we were to regard scientific achievements more strictly to this criteria, the fraction of mRNA vaccines utilised in the COVID19 pandemic could not have passed muster. But, for their contributions to science, Drs. Karikó and Weissman, among others, deserved to be awarded the prize. Rather, their victory teaches us something significant about the context of science and the true meaning of “for all mankind.”
At the cost of tax dollars:
- The majority of novel medications and vaccines are based on a large body of research that was funded by public monies and governments. This phase is expected to cost $1 billion, take several decades, and require $2.5 billion in resources. Subsequently, businesses turn these entities into commodities and start selling them for millions of dollars, usually at the cost of the same taxpayers who paid for the original research.
- We cannot ignore the “double-spend” it imposes on consumers, including governments, and the profit-driven mindset it instills in the businesses creating and producing the product. There is merit to this model of drug and vaccine development, especially in light of the innovation it encourages and the eventual competition that drives down prices.
- Protracted negotiations over pricing and liability further complicated Moderna and Pfizer’s use of their mRNA COVID19 vaccines in other countries, including India. These negotiations stemmed from North American and European countries’ zeal to ensure that they had more than enough for themselves before allowing manufacturers to export them to the rest of the world.
About COVAX:
- The Access to Covid-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator’s vaccination pillar is called COVAX. An international partnership known as the ACT Accelerator aims to expedite the research, development, manufacturing, and distribution of Covid-19 diagnostics, therapies, and vaccines.
- The World Health Organisation (WHO), the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI), and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) are its co-leaders.
- The COVAX initiative, which aimed to protect developing nations from the consequences of their limited purchasing capacity and to guarantee that they had enough mRNA vaccinations on hand, was unable to meet its objectives. Billions of doses of vaccines were sold by China, Russia, and India, but their efforts were hindered by worries that the manufacturing capacity had been exaggerated in China’s and overestimated in India.
Evax Corbe:
- The development of the protein subunit vaccine Corbevax, which was licenced to India’s Biological E for manufacturing by Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, and the Texas Children’s Hospital Centre for Vaccine Development, is an example of a different approach from that taken by Dr. Karikó. It was not patented by them. It contributed to the creation and unrestricted global access to a low-cost COVID-19 vaccine.
In summary:
- The mRNA vaccine may have helped everyone during the epidemic, but it did not, therefore we cannot blame our scientists for attempting to make money off of their work. Thus, history ought to record both the events that actually transpired during the pandemic and the variations claimed by the 2023 Medicine Nobel.
