Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman have been awarded the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for their groundbreaking work on mRNA vaccines. Their research, published in a 2005 paper that initially received little attention, fundamentally changed our understanding of how mRNA interacts with our immune system. Their findings laid the foundation for the development of mRNA vaccines, including those used against Covid-19. The Nobel Prize committee praised their contributions, stating that mRNA vaccines have been administered over 13 billion times and have saved millions of lives, prevented severe cases of Covid-19, and allowed societies to reopen. The technology developed by Karikó and Weissman may also be used to develop vaccines for other infectious diseases and treat certain cancer types.
Karikó, a Hungarian-American biochemist, and Weissman, an American physician, are both professors at the University of Pennsylvania. Their work formed the basis for Pfizer, Moderna, and other companies to develop vaccines using mRNA. Messenger RNA is a single strand of genetic code that cells can use to make proteins. In the case of the Covid-19 vaccine, the mRNA instructs cells to produce a piece of the virus’s spike protein, which triggers an immune response. This design allows for quick vaccine development by simply obtaining the genetic sequence of the virus. The Nobel committee noted that mRNA technology has the potential to be used for vaccines against other diseases and to deliver therapeutic proteins.
Karikó and Weissman faced challenges and skepticism early on in their research. Karikó’s idea of using mRNA as a therapy was considered too radical, and she faced numerous rejections for funding. In 1995, she was demoted from her position at UPenn and was also diagnosed with cancer. However, she persevered and, together with Weissman, developed a method to make mRNA less immunogenic. Their technology proved to be more efficient than traditional methods of vaccine production, as demonstrated by the rapid development of the Covid-19 vaccine. Karikó expressed confidence in the success of the trials, as they had conducted enough experiments to support their approach. The Nobel Prize recognizes their groundbreaking work and its significant impact on global health.
