New Delhi, June 3
Amid fresh surge in Covid-19 cases, a team of US researchers has developed a new type of mRNA vaccine that is more scalable and adaptable to tackle continuously evolving viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 and H5N1.
While the currently available mRNA vaccines are highly effective at inducing an immune response against Covid, they present challenges like the high amount of mRNA needed to produce them and the constantly evolving nature of the pathogen.
"The virus changes, moving the goal post, and updating the vaccine takes some time," said senior author Suresh Kuchipudi, chair of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health.
To address these challenges, the researchers created a proof-of-concept Covid vaccine using what's known as a "trans-amplifying" mRNA platform.
In this approach, the mRNA is separated into two fragments -- the antigen sequence and the replicase sequence -- the latter of which can be produced in advance, saving crucial time in the event a new vaccine must be developed urgently and produced at scale.