The COVID-19 pandemic has hugely affected peoples’ lives and dragged down global economics, however it also presents a new technology, which was highly underestimated before: mRNA.
As a pacesetter for the medicine sector, CureVac has been leading the development of the mRNA technology since Dr. Ingmar Hoerr unveiled the potential therapeutic effects of mRNA when he founded CureVac in 2000. Until now, CureVac is carrying the torch of adapting and manufacturing mRNA to improve today’s medicines:
“It is a vision that RNA is transforming the way we see medicine today and from a regulatory point of view, how fast you can develop a vaccine. This will have an impact on human lives”, says Dr. Franz-Werner Haas, CEO of CureVac.
mRNA is an intelligent component within all forms of cellular life, it carries target-specific instructions of producing proteins from DNA. For example, by injecting mRNA vaccines, the laboratory-made mRNA can “teach” the cells to make proteins and can in result trigger an immune response inside the body.
CureVac is dedicated in driving the mRNA-technology forward, Dr. Franz-Werner Haas explains further, “the mission is to use RNA in different areas of medical application to transform today's medicine and to make your body produce its own medicine.”
During this process, after the protein-encoding RNA gets injected into the human body, the body can produce this protein to fight the disease. With precise targeting of the immune system, RNA also has its own special advantages in treating cancer:
Dr. Markus Bergmann, the General Manager of CureVac RNA Printer GmbH explains, “RNA is a perfect drug to interfere with the immune system and to provide new ways of curing these diseases. That's the innovative aspect of mRNA.”
CureVac has developed a comprehensive process of manufacturing mRNA with its innovative RNA printer, which can code different types of protein on mRNA to produce various medicines:
“It is highly standardised. The high degree of automation allows us to be fast and to deliver to the point,” says Dr. Markus Bergmann. Furthermore, since RNA manufacturing is not customised and is highly dependent on the development of the technology, CureVac, as the very first company to harness the medical potential of RNA, is leading the race.
The state-of-art technology based on mRNA has proven its capabilities in the battlefield of the COVID-19 pandemic and saved thousands of peoples’ lives. CureVac is constantly devoting itself to evolving its techniques and preparing for anything unwanted to happen in the future.
Dr. Franz-Werner Haas elaborates, “And what is it that we can do in order to be prepared for the next pandemic? Because two things are for sure: the next pandemic will come; and the second thing is: we don't know what it will be. So, we have to be prepared.”
In the future, CureVac will keep sharpening its technology in RNA manufacturing and seeking out partners who share the same vision of shifting today’s medicine, carrying its fundamental techs for the benefit of global health.
