For decades, the same plasmid technology has been used in vaccination, cell and gene therapy, and as a raw material in viral vector and RNA production, but that technology often isn’t a good fit for the processes where it’s being used. Now, with the growing availability of Nanoplasmid™ vectors, that is changing.
While research into RNA, including mRNA and related derivatives, has been ongoing for almost 50 years, it’s taken the COVID-19 pandemic to accelerate the development of vaccines using this technology. mRNA provides an incredible opportunity to develop new treatments for viral based, genetically driven, or cancerous diseases.
Analytical innovation is often overlooked in discussions of biotechnology product development and manufacturing processes. For example, in the DNA area, most “state of the art” analytical methods in use were developed in the 1980s, or even earlier. Industrywide, there is a need to continuously innovate in the analytical space due to the tremendous advances in enabling technologies.
With the manufacture of RNA, capping is one of the many crucial steps in developing the final product. There are two methods of capping, enzymatic and co-transcriptional. Both have advantages and disadvantages.
When mRNA vaccines began to roll out in late 2020 to fight the COVID pandemic, it was the first large-scale use of the molecule after years of research. But the success of those vaccines was only the beginning of new opportunities for the RNA field.
We often hear how interest in, and use of, RNA technology is growing because of the COVID-19 pandemic. One discussion at the TIDES USA conference had a unique perspective: how Moore’s Law may now apply to RNA technology.
The American Biomanufacturing Summit, held in San Francisco in April, is a senior-level event attracting over 200 biopharmaceutical executives sharing the latest information from the industry. One top item consistently discussed was how the expectations of speed have been dramatically changed after how quickly COVID-19 vaccines were developed and moved to market, most particularly the mRNA vaccines.
Messenger RNA (mRNA) and self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) offer a unique opportunity for the development of novel therapeutics to treat a wide range of diseases. These modalities offer distinctive advantages over traditional therapies, from both biological and production standpoints. The success of RNA programs may depend heavily on the timeline to manufacture RNA molecules.
