{"id":92989,"date":"2020-11-09T11:29:58","date_gmt":"2020-11-09T17:29:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=92989"},"modified":"2020-11-09T11:38:46","modified_gmt":"2020-11-09T17:38:46","slug":"the-race-for-covid-19-vaccines-a-deep-dive-into-modernas-frontrunner-candidate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/the-race-for-covid-19-vaccines-a-deep-dive-into-modernas-frontrunner-candidate\/","title":{"rendered":"The race for COVID-19 vaccines: A deep dive into Moderna\u2019s frontrunner candidate"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Shivani Majmudar <\/strong>
\n Medill Reports <\/em><\/p>\n

COVID-19\u2019s sudden emergence as a catastrophic global pandemic, and the absence of medical treatment, left scientists grasping for any means to meet the overwhelming demand for care.<\/p>\n

In the historic race to develop a vaccine, Moderna Therapeutic\u2019s candidate, mRNA-1273, stands out as a frontrunner. The biotechnology company went from genetic sequencing to a vaccine ready for human testing in record-breaking time \u2014 just 42 days.<\/p>\n

Vaccines are developed from the same pathogens (or their structural components) that they are designed to protect against. The infectious strains that are used to neutralize contracting their respective illness \u2013 the purpose of a vaccine \u2013 are either killed or chemically altered in a laboratory to reduce the severity of symptoms. When injected into humans, the body elicits an immune response exactly as if it were exposed to the disease. The immune system not only fights the infection, but also builds memory to better protect itself if it were to encounter the same pathogen again.<\/p>\n

These memory-cells are called antibodies, which are specific to the antigen, or pathogen subunit, that initially stimulated its creation. Antibodies are recognized by its characteristic Y-shape.<\/p>\n

Instead of developing vaccines from the intact virus or its protein subunits, Moderna uses the pathogen\u2019s mRNA \u2014 the genetic instruction manual for the human body to make proteins. Moderna\u2019s candidate is the first mRNA vaccine to be tested in humans.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how it works <\/strong><\/p>\n

An mRNA-based vaccine follows the same procedure in the human body as a traditional vaccine. Once injected into a patient, human cell machinery will take up the mRNA and follow its genetic instructions to generate viral proteins. With Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), scientists at Moderna and the National Institutes of Health chose to derive the mRNA sequence for the characteristic spike proteins that decorate the outer surface of the virus.<\/p>\n

\"Moderna
Mechanism for mRNA vaccine entry and protein synthesis. See full presentation here<\/a>. (Moderna)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Patients who receive the vaccine then make the same viral particles that we recognize as COVID-19. The body\u2019s immune system identifies these particles as \u201cforeign\u201d and elicits the standard protective and memory response against them.<\/p>\n

With mRNA-based vaccines, the human body takes an extra step to make viral proteins, while it would immediately create an immune response if given a traditional vaccine. In this way, the human body is essentially making its own vaccine.<\/p>\n

Key advantages and challenges <\/strong><\/p>\n

The biggest asset of using mRNA-based vaccines is their rapid production time. Traditional vaccines can take years to develop \u2014 Moderna\u2019s vaccine was created in just six weeks. Part of this speed is because manufacturers do not have to alter the virulence of the pathogen, a generally time-intensive and expensive process, with mRNA-based vaccines. And with COVID-19 surging in the US again, nine months after the country\u2019s first reported case, time is of the essence.<\/p>\n

Moreover, quick turnaround times between development to human testing allow researchers more flexibility during rapidly evolving pandemics. Traditional vaccines only protect against the specific strain of the virus that patients are injected with. Therefore in cases where there are multiple strains, as we are seeing with COVID-19, a \u201cone-size-fits-all\u201d solution is ineffective. RNA-based vaccines are a comparatively simple and rapid alternative because they can be easily altered to manage the unpredictable nature of evolving pathogens.<\/p>\n

\"COVID
Of the nearly 150 COVID-19 vaccine candidates, the vast majority follow traditional models of virus or protein-based. Moderna\u2019s candidate is one of the few that fall under the category of nucleic acids. See full tracker here<\/a>. (Milken Institute Data\/Graphic by Shivani Majmudar)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One large hurdle is the highly sensitive nature of mRNA, especially with regard to temperature. The molecule is prone to degradation in environments warmer than 20\u00b0 C. This poses a challenge to vaccine manufacturers as they try to scale production globally. Although scientists have found some ways to combat this, such as altering the genetic sequence to confer greater stability at higher temperatures or implement freeze-drying procedures, further research is still needed.<\/p>\n

The balance between warp speed production and safety <\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite the urgent need, the unprecedented speed at which COVID-19 vaccines have been developed this year has led many to question its safety.<\/p>\n

But scientists and experts remind the public that these vaccine models are not new \u2014 just the virus that is used to develop it. Even novel mRNA-based vaccines have been tested before for infectious diseases in pre-clinical studies, which demonstrated promising results in animal models.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to remember that these vaccines didn\u2019t just suddenly appear,\u201d said Dr. Richard Novak, principal investigator of the University of Illinois-Chicago Phase III clinical trial for Moderna\u2019s vaccine. \u201cWe\u2019ve been using technology to develop these platforms for other potentially pandemic infections like HIV and Ebola.\u201d<\/p>\n

Novak also stressed the importance of clinical trials, and how Phase I and II specifically are \u201call about safety and immunogencity.\u201d<\/p>\n

See related: Dr Richard Novak: The man behind UIC’s COVID-19 vaccine Phase III clinical trial<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Shivani Majmudar covers health, environment and science at Medill. You can follow her on Twitter at @spmajmudarr<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Shivani Majmudar Medill Reports COVID-19\u2019s sudden emergence as a catastrophic global pandemic, and the absence of medical treatment, left scientists grasping for any means to meet the overwhelming demand for care. In the historic race to develop a vaccine, Moderna Therapeutic\u2019s candidate, mRNA-1273, stands out as a frontrunner. The biotechnology company went from genetic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":705,"featured_media":93005,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5029,5045,29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-92989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-covid-19","category-fall-2020","category-health-and-science"],"yoast_head":"\nThe race for COVID-19 vaccines: A deep dive into Moderna\u2019s frontrunner candidate - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/the-race-for-covid-19-vaccines-a-deep-dive-into-modernas-frontrunner-candidate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The race for COVID-19 vaccines: A deep dive into Moderna\u2019s frontrunner candidate - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Shivani Majmudar Medill Reports COVID-19\u2019s sudden emergence as a catastrophic global pandemic, and the absence of medical treatment, left scientists grasping for any means to meet the overwhelming demand for care. 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