Cancer Vaccines Possible By 2030, According To mRNA Shot Makers

Turns out, the breakthrough mRNA vaccines developed to fight COVID-19 could have even greater use in the future: tackling cancer. 

According to Ugur Sahin and Özlem Türeci, the husband and wife team behind BioNTech, which worked with Pfizer to develop shots during the pandemic, the technology could be repurposed to fight cancer cells instead of coronaviruses. 

They’re so optimistic about the development of a cancer-fighting vaccine, the couple told BBC News that “a cure for cancer” or one that changes patients’ lives could be ready before the end of the decade. 

As per the Guardian, the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine works by priming the body’s immune system to look out for spike proteins found on the virus, which are used as “wanted posters” signaling to antibodies exactly which cells to attack. 

This same method can be used by the body to identify and destroy cancer cells, just by switching the genetic instruction in the vaccine from looking for viruses to cancer antigens. 

ABC News notes that many other pharmaceutical firms, including the makers of the Moderna pandemic vaccine, are also tapping on mRNA technology to develop vaccines for specific cancers. 

At the moment, BioNTech reveals it has several vaccines undergoing clinical trials, and hopes to come up with varying treatments for bowel cancer, melanoma, and other strains of the disease; though, of course, many challenges lie ahead. 

Fortunately, the company has since learned how to manufacture vaccines more quickly, and it now has greater insight into how our bodies respond to mRNA. As such, the founders are confident it will also speed up their cancer vaccine research. 

[via The Guardian and ABC News, cover image via Cristian Storto | Dreamstime.com]