They work: mRNA vaccines against cancer. US pharmaceutical company Moderna has just completed phase 2 of clinical testing, thus setting a milestone. The research results are pleasing. According to Moderna, skin cancer patients who received the mRNA cancer vaccine had a significantly lower risk of dying from the cancer or getting the disease again at a later date.
“This is a revolution,” says Paul Burton, 54, chief physician of Moderna. “But we still have a lot of work ahead of us.” The first phase 3 studies are scheduled to begin next year. The first mRNA cancer vaccines could be on the market in three years. However, this is subject to approval by the pharmaceutical authorities – in Switzerland Swissmedic is on the alert.
Chemotherapy becomes unnecessary
mRNA vaccines have gained a global reputation in the Covid-19 pandemic. Now they must revolutionize the fight against many other diseases, including cancer.
The highlight of mRNA-based cancer vaccines: the vaccine helps the immune system fight the cancer itself. without chemotherapy.
Cancer cells produce proteins that distinguish them from healthy body cells. The mRNA vaccine helps the immune system recognize these proteins and fight cancer cells.
Proteins on cancer cells are different in each patient. Each cancer has an individual “fingerprint”. For this reason, the vaccine is adapted to each patient individually.
Only patients who have previously been diagnosed with cancer are vaccinated. It does not have a preventive effect like the Covid 19 vaccine. Cancer patients are given a personalized cancer vaccine every 3 weeks.
Probably not a big order for Lonza this time
In order to create a vaccine for each patient, a biopsy of the cancerous tissue must first be taken. The proteins are then analyzed in the laboratory and the appropriate vaccine is produced. Today is eight weeks from the biopsy to the end of the cancer vaccine. “We want to reduce the timeframe to four weeks,” Burton announces.
This is where the Valais chemical company Lonza can also come in: It is already producing components of mRNA Covid vaccines for Moderna. But: When it comes to a cancer vaccine, there probably isn’t a production order for millions of doses for Lonza. “Cancer vaccines are made in much smaller quantities than Covid; After all, every patient gets their own individual vaccine,” says Dan Staner (54), CEO of Moderna Europe.
Hope for skin cancer patients
So far, mRNA vaccines have been tested on skin cancer patients. “We want to expand the studies soon, for example, to lung and colon cancer patients,” says Burton.
In addition to Moderna, other pharmaceutical companies are also researching cancer vaccines, including the German company Biontech. However, Moderna was the first company to successfully complete phase 2 work.
It’s still entirely clear how much the new mRNA cancer vaccines will one day cost.