New goals
Moderna announced the development of mRNA vaccines against herpes, cancer and smallpox
Svetlana Maslova, Hi-tech+
Following the success of the COVID-19 vaccine, the American company Moderna launches new research on mRNA technology. Scientists expect that it will also be able to demonstrate the effectiveness and safety for humans with herpes, cancer and smallpox. Pfizer, a competitor of Moderna, previously announced a similar development strategy.
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the development and testing of mRNA vaccine technology. In a short time, the high efficiency and safety of the method was confirmed, so now scientists have rushed to new goals. The developer of the mRNA vaccine from COVID-19, the biotechnology company Moderna, announced the launch of research against the herpes simplex virus, chickenpox virus and cancer vaccine, the company's press service writes.
The first candidate vaccine will target the herpes simplex virus of the second type, which causes genital herpes, but scientists expect that the immunity will have cross-protection and will be effective against HSV of the first type. It is estimated that the incidence of HSV-1 is more than half of the world's population, and HSV-2 is about 10% of adults. Given the results of recent studies on the association of herpes simplex virus with neurodegenerative diseases, the new vaccine may also be a preventive measure of Alzheimer's disease.
The second candidate vaccine is being developed against the varicella-zoster virus, which, like the herpes simplex virus, remains in the body forever.
Earlier, Pfizer representatives said that the company would be engaged in the creation of a vaccine against this common disease. Now, similar plans have been made in Moderna.
Finally, the scientists plan to develop mRNA vaccines against cancer that will target two antigens expressed by some cancer cells. At the first stages of research, it will be tested against skin cancer and lung cancer.
"We strive to fight latent viruses in order to prevent the chronic diseases that they provoke. With our candidate vaccines, we also hope to improve the quality of people's lives," concluded Stefan Bansel, CEO of Moderna.
Currently, scientists from various research centers are already working on more than thirty candidate vaccines based on mRNA - against HIV, influenza, hepatitis, Dengue fever, tuberculosis, malaria and others. This is due to the flexibility of mRNA technology, which easily adapts to counteract any particular disease.
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