Cancer vaccine will use same mRNA technology as Covid vaccine in UK trials

A pioneering new cancer treatment using the same biotechnology as the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine is set to be tested in the UK.

The vaccine, using mRNA technology (messenger ribonucleic acid technology) will be designed for each patient’s immune system, presenting the immune system with the genetic code of cancer so that only the tumor itself is attacked rather than other cells.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay is due to sign a memorandum of understanding with German pharmaceutical company BioNTech on Friday to “ensure that the best possible treatments are available as soon as possible” for cancer.

Patients in England could have access to personalized therapies as early as September 2023.

BioNTech has worked with Pfizer to develop the widely used mRNA vaccination against Covid, and its partnership with the UK government could deliver 10,000 doses of personalized therapies to UK patients by 2030 through a new research and development centre.

“BioNTech shares our commitment to scientific progress”

Mr Barclay said: “Once cancer is detected, we need to ensure that the best possible treatments are available as soon as possible, including for breast, lung and pancreatic cancer.

“BioNTech helped lead the world on a Covid-19 vaccine and they share our commitment to scientific progress, innovation and cutting-edge scientific technology, making them perfect partners for a collaborative cancer vaccine agreement.”

He added: “This partnership means that, starting in September, our patients will be among the first to participate in trials and tests to deliver targeted, personalized and precision treatments using transformative new therapies to both treat cancer existing and help stop it coming back.

“This deal builds on this government’s pledge to increase research and development spending to £20bn a year and demonstrates that the UK remains one of the most attractive places in the world for business. who want to invest in research, test new treatments and treat patients more effectively.”

“Drug development can be accelerated if we work together”

Professor Ugur Sahin, CEO and co-founder of BioNTech, said: “The UK has been able to deliver Covid-19 vaccines so quickly because the National Health Service, academia, the regulator and the private sector have worked together in an exemplary manner.

“This agreement is the result of lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic. Drug development can be accelerated without cutting corners if everyone works together seamlessly towards the same goal. Today’s agreement shows that we are committed to doing the same for cancer patients.”

Professor Sahin added: “Our goal is to accelerate the development of immunotherapies and vaccines using technologies that we have been researching for more than 20 years. The collaboration will cover various types of cancer and infectious diseases collectively affecting hundreds of millions of people worldwide.

“If successful, this collaboration has the potential to improve patient outcomes and provide early access to our suite of cancer immunotherapies as well as innovative infectious disease vaccines – in the UK and around the world. the world.”

“Attention must be paid to early detection”

Katalin Kariko, a former BioNTech executive and researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, warned that the technology may not be powerful enough to destroy entire tumours.

“Immune cells cannot defeat a big, huge tumor,” Kariko said in an interview at Semmelweis University in Budapest. She said scientists need to “shift our attention to early detection,” such as developing blood tests to identify tumors long before patients are usually diagnosed, she said.

The results of a recent trial combining a Moderna Inc personalized vaccine with the cancer drug Keytruda showed the technology’s potential, she said, but added that the trial was conducted in patients whose tumors had already been surgically removed.

“Some cells survive and you can fight them with the vaccine,” she said.

Some of the patients in the trials will have already received treatment for the cancer and the hope is that the vaccine will prevent it from coming back, while other patients will have advanced cancers which the vaccine could help shrink and control.