Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2023
The 2023 Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for their “discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19”. The duo had started investigating mRNA as a platform for protein replacement therapeutics in the early 1990s but were hampered by its inflammatory properties. Their breakthrough discovery in 2005 showed that replacement of uridine with pseudouridine renders mRNA non-immunogenic. This paved the way for the development of mRNA-based vaccines at unprecedented speed, saving countless lives during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In this Collection, Nature Portfolio recognizes the achievements of the Nobel Laureates in a selection of research, review, news and opinion articles that highlight the development of mRNA-based therapeutics and vaccines over the past two decades.
This Collection is editorially independent, produced with financial support from a third party. About this content.
Founded in 2009, Vancouver-based Acuitas Therapeutics, Inc. is a private biotechnology company specializing in delivery systems for nucleic acid therapeutics based on lipid nanoparticles. Acuitas partners with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as non-governmental organizations and academic institutes, to advance nucleic acid therapeutics into clinical trials and the marketplace.
Acuitas’ lipid nanoparticle technology is used in the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine COMIRNATY® to deliver the mRNA vaccine into cells. The Acuitas team is currently working on therapeutics focused on addressing cancer, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other serious diseases.
The Acuitas team continues to regularly collaborate with Nobel Prize laureates Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman.
Below are links to studies co-authored by members of the Acuitas team with Drs. Karikó and/or Weissman that have been published on Nature.com:
- In vivo adenine base editing of PCSK9 in macaques reduces LDL cholesterol levels
- Nucleoside-modified mRNA immunization elicits influenza virus hemagglutinin stalk-specific antibodies
- Administration of nucleoside-modified mRNA encoding broadly neutralizing antibody protects humanized mice from HIV-1 challenge
- Zika virus protection by a single low-dose nucleoside-modified mRNA vaccination
In over 10 years since its inception, Moderna has transformed from a research-stage company advancing programs in the field of messenger RNA (mRNA), to an enterprise with a diverse clinical portfolio of vaccines and therapeutics across seven modalities, a broad intellectual property portfolio in areas including mRNA and lipid nanoparticle formulation, and an integrated manufacturing plant that allows for rapid clinical and commercial production at scale. Moderna maintains alliances with a broad range of domestic and overseas government and commercial collaborators, which has allowed for the pursuit of both groundbreaking science and rapid scaling of manufacturing. Most recently, Moderna’s capabilities have come together to allow the authorized use and approval of one of the earliest and most effective vaccines against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Moderna’s mRNA platform builds on continuous advances in basic and applied mRNA science, delivery technology and manufacturing, and has allowed the development of therapeutics and vaccines for infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, cardiovascular diseases and auto-immune diseases. To learn more, visit www.modernatx.com.
The University of Szeged (USz) is among the largest and most prestigious higher education institutions in Hungary, with a vibrant international environment. It has 12 faculties in a wide range of academic fields, with more than 2,400 lecturers and researchers, and over 23,000 students.
Beyond education at all levels, including PhD, USz is embedded in the global research network through numerous interdisciplinary collaborations, cutting-edge excellence centres and infrastructure, intensive industrial cooperation, and a broad range of RDI services. Excellence research areas include, among others: molecular biology, bionics and biotechnology, translational biomedicine, pharmaceutical research, photonics and laser research, material science and nanotechnology, smart systems.
The Institution takes an active role in the social, economic and cultural development of the region as a healthcare provider through its Clinical Centre and as a hub of the innovation ecosystem. By preserving and disseminating the intellectual heritage of Nobel laureate Albert Szent-Györgyi, the University celebrates creativity and innovative mindset.
The University of Szeged salutes its Nobel laureate alumna and research professor Katalin Karikó, the outstanding work she and her colleagues have delivered on the broader therapeutic applications of RNA-based technologies.
