A key part of the science that made Moderna’s and Pfizer/BioNTech’s vaccines possible began with a Penn Medicine discovery. Fifteen years ago, Professor of Medicine Drew Weissman, MD, PhD, in collaboration with Katalin Kariko, PhD, a Penn faculty member at the time, helped spearhead a key breakthrough that enabled scientists to use messenger RNA to elicit an immune response rather than using a weakened or inactivated form of the virus, as in our current flu and measles vaccines.
In November, both Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna shared data showing that their experimental vaccines using Dr. Weissman's technology were, respectively, more than 95 and 94.5 percent effective against SARS-CoV-2 infection.*
“As a vaccinologist, I can’t remember ever seeing a respiratory virus vaccine that had 90 percent efficacy,” says Dr. Weissman. “We’re usually thinking about flu, and we’re happy with 40 to 60 percent. This is fantastic news. It’s probably going to be a wonderful vaccine.”
The science and technology discovered by Dr. Weissman is receiving special attention for its role in battling today’s pandemic, and it is ramping up to help fight others, both present and future.
“We’ve got research well underway to test vaccines for the prevention of genital herpes, influenza, HIV, and others on the way,” he added. “There have been three coronavirus pandemics in the past 20 years. You have to expect that more are going to show up.” The lab is working on developing pancoronavirus vaccines to prevent future pandemics. Weissman’s lab is also developing mRNA technology as a possible treatment for sickle cell anemia.
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Originally Posted by Andrea J.
