The covid-19 pandemic and the haste with which the laboratories acted generated some changes in medicine. In addition to biomedicine, technology was used to achieve an effective vaccine to kill the virus. The mRNA vaccines are the protagonists of this pandemic.
So much so that mRNA (messenger) vaccines, promise to become a disruptive change in biomedicine. Some scientists say that the changes in about 20 years, will be like the discovery of penicillin in the twentieth century.
Coronavirus mRNA vaccine technology will help in the future
The mRNA technology promises to revolutionize the field of preventive medicine. The vaccines developed for coronavirus by BioNtech-Pfizer and Moderna comply with this technology.
The vaccines known until before the pandemic, are based on attenuated viruses. Our body is then responsible for developing antibodies against the disease. Messenger RNA vaccines “teach” the cells of our body to produce proteins. These proteins provide an immunity response against the disease.
Recall that our DNA contains the genetic information of each cell. While RNA is in charge of each cell “understanding that” information. That’s why “messenger” is included in the name. It is in charge of carrying the message to the cells to generate proteins for the immune system. MRNA vaccines teach our body to make its own defenses.
Leading laboratories are advancing in the use of this technology
The Moderna laboratory tests a vaccine against seasonal influenza based on the same principle. This vaccine targets four different strains. It has also already successfully developed a vaccine that includes covid-19, RSV and influenza. In this way, they combined 6 mRNAs to immunize against 3 viruses that affect the respiratory system. The booster against coronavirus, RSV and influenza, in a single vaccine.
BioNtech-Pfizer is developing an mRNA-based vaccine against cancer. This disease is the second leading cause of death worldwide. They are looking to identify four antigens that cause this disease. Most of the melanomas that patients develop contain one of these antigens.
The vaccine that is in development is not preventive, but for patients who already have cancer. It works as an immune response that would act against cancer cells. Although vaccines can also be developed in the same way, vaccines for those people who are prone to develop cancer.
The coronavirus pandemic at least left something positive. It is records of laboratory data and assays that otherwise would have taken years to develop. As in the case of antibiotics that saved millions of lives, these vaccines promise the same. Not in the short term, of course. But it’s an excellent start.
