An evolution at TIDES

May 24, 2023 / by Elisabeth Sequeira

mRNA joins the mix

In the past, the TIDES USA conference event has been focused on oligonucleotide and peptide therapeutics, providing information on development trends and technologies for those industry segments. That is changing now, with an additional focus on mRNA therapeutics coming into the mix.

While many of the attendees I met asked about oligo and peptides, the number of attendees who came to ask specifically about mRNA and its support services was quite high as they wanted to explore and expand their use of the mRNA modality for development projects. This became apparent at Aldevron’s hosted lunch presentation by Todd Howren, titled Sequence-to-vial mRNA Manufacturing.

This presentation brought out a lot of questions, focusing on the ability to move from drug substance to drug product in a consistent single-vendor approach, as well as questions on lipid nanoparticle encapsulation technology and its use in delivering mRNA to targeted areas. Additional items that came under discussion included the availability of IVT enzymes for use in mRNA therapeutic development.

There was also substantive discussion concerning the capabilities of the industry to meet the needs of developers, and how newer technologies can help meet those growing requirements of the industry. There were several new technologies discussed that are either being evaluated or are in the initial phases of implementation. I took that as a learning opportunity to see where the industry could be headed in the next few years, and it drove a lot of enthusiasm in the audience for what’s coming down the pipeline.

For the event itself, it seems that the mRNA aspect has quickly become a critical component for driving the event. The enthusiasm from all the attendees for that, along with the continued strong interest in oligo and peptides, provides a varied and interesting mix of topics and learning opportunities.

• Want to know more about this topic? Contact Elisabeth Sequeira
• Visit our mRNA Production web page
• View Yasser Kehail’s blog post, Holding It All Together: Encapsulation and mRNA
• Have an idea for a topic? Let us know!