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  • NEWS FEATURE

Why rings of RNA could be the next blockbuster drug

The commercial success of RNA vaccines for COVID-19 has revved up interest in circular RNAs as the next generation of therapies.
  1. Elie Dolgin

    1. Elie Dolgin is a science journalist in Somerville, Massachusetts.

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Cartoon showing scientists riding a rollercoaster made of RNA.

Illustration by Fabio Buonocore

RNA-based vaccines were the heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic. They set records for the highest-grossing drug launches in history, and their development was recognized in this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. But it was long known that this technology had a key shortcoming: RNA, in its usual linear form, is short-lived. Within hours, enzymes in cells descend on the molecule, chewing it to pieces.

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Nature 622, 22-24 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-03058-7

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