Is mRNA technology a game changer for global health?

While the messenger RNA technology that aided in the development of some COVID-19 vaccines could be a game changer in global health, applying it to other diseases may not be so simple, according to scientists at a Devex event on the sidelines of the 74th World Health Assembly.

Why it matters: A new platform technology, such as the mRNA approach, is usually followed by a wave of vaccine development for a range of pathogens, said Helen Fletcher, a professor of immunology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, at the event on the sidelines of WHA.

Despite a clear need, the pipeline for better tuberculosis vaccines is currently “very empty” and “slowly moving,” she said, adding that mRNA technology can hopefully stimulate development.

“We have about 25 vaccine candidates in the [TB] vaccine pipeline — compared to about 250 in the COVID-19 vaccine pipeline — despite the fact that … we have been developing vaccines for TB for 100 years,” she said.

What’s next: The mRNAs tested for COVID-19 vaccine development “had an easy proof of concept,” and scientists are now focusing on more difficult applications of the technology, according to Jerome Kim, director general at the International Vaccine Institute.

But utilizing it for other diseases will not be so simple, Fletcher warned, as other pathogens are more complex in structure and can evade an immune response.

“It may not be that we are reinventing all vaccines, [but] certain vaccines — perhaps vaccines with too much toxicity, vaccines with difficult targets, like in HIV, TB, and malaria. But some of the other vaccines are probably going to stay as they are,” Kim said.