Two scientists who have revolutionized the development of effective COVID-19 vaccines have been awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize for Medicine. Hungarian-American scientist Katalin Kariko and American colleague Drew Weissman began working on a breakthrough mRNA technology in the early 1990s at the University of Pennsylvania. This technology has been crucial in developing the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNtech coronavirus vaccines, which have been extremely successful in tackling the virus.
The Nobel Prize in Medicine Committee in Sweden acknowledged the discovery of mRNA technology and how it has helped defeat one of the greatest threats to humanity in modern times. Rickard Sandberg, a member of the Nobel committee, said that mRNA vaccines have been administered more than 13 billion times, saving millions of lives and enabling societies to open back up again. Furthermore, mRNA technologies are now being used to develop vaccines against other infections and could eventually be used for therapeutic protein delivery and cancer treatment.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also congratulated the Nobel Prize winners, emphasizing that this is a great day for health, science, and vaccines. mRNA technology works by instructing cells to make proteins that resemble those found on the surface of pathogens, such as the coronavirus. The body then recognizes these as invaders and creates antibodies and T-cells to attack them, which helps prepare the body to deal with a real virus in the future.
Kariko and Weissman first met while lining up to use a photocopier machine at the University of Pennsylvania in the early 1990s. By 2005, the pair had worked out a way to stop the immune system from attacking RNA made in the laboratory, which was a major obstacle in its use. Kariko commented that she was the RNA person and Weissman was the immunologist, and that they both educated each other and developed mRNA together.
The potential of mRNA technology is immense; Weissman said they have been thinking for years about everything that could be done with RNA, and now it is here. The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the development of this technology, and there is a substantial number of potential uses for it. Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at Britain’s University of East Anglia, said that mRNA technology could be used to fight cancer, by creating vaccines that are targeted towards specific kinds of tumors or even to specific individuals.
The Nobel Committee for Medicine Chair, Gunilla Karlsson-Hedestam, expressed hope that mRNA technology could be used for cancer treatment, noting the flexibility of the platform and how it could become an ideal solution. Kariko and Weissman share the prize of $1 million and will receive their medals at a ceremony in Stockholm in December.
The success of Kariko and Weissman’s mRNA technology has been instrumental in the progress of effective COVID-19 vaccines. Their incredible discovery has saved millions of lives and has the potential to do even more in the future. As Ghebreyesus said, this is indeed a great day for health, science, and vaccines.
