Decades of substantial US government investment in mRNA technology paved the way for COVID-19 vaccines

In a recent study published in The BMJresearchers are exploring US public funding for the development of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Study: US public investment in mRNA covid-19 vaccine development: a retrospective cohort study. Image Credit: Jason Raff / Shutterstock.com

The development of COVID-19 vaccines

The creation of safe and effective mRNA vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been one of the most significant public health achievements of the COVID-19 pandemic. The effectiveness of mRNA vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 has been made possible by scientific innovation and advances in biotechnology over the past 30 years, as well as significant support from the United States and others. country.

Once the pandemic hit in 2020, the United States made huge financial investments to complete clinical trials and made advance purchases guaranteeing millions of doses of vaccines before their safety and effectiveness were fully proven. .

About the study

In the present study, researchers assessed U.S. public investment in COVID-19 mRNA vaccine development.

Three key data sources were used to identify public funding, including the National Institute of Hydrology (NIH) Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool, Expenditures and Results (RePORTER), Countermeasures Portfolio of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and the Department of Defense Contracts Database.

The team reviewed scientific data describing the history of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine development and looked at four key inventions. These inventions included the development of lipid nanoparticles as a drug delivery system, the production and modification of mRNA, as well as small interfering RNAs (siRNA), the definition of the structure of the “spike” protein of the prefusion SARS-CoV-2, and RNA vaccine development of biotechnology for human use.

An analysis of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine patent network was used to identify 88 significant patented inventions and links to companies licensing the technology. In addition, all the inventors mentioned in these 121 patents have been identified. The list with additional researchers identified through published accounts of mRNA vaccine development, news reports and press releases was created.

Two authors independently attributed each scientist’s contributions to one or more of the four inventions based on a review of attributions and patents. In order to maintain a comprehensive search technique, every potential invention has been included.

Researchers created search terms by pairing each scientist’s name with a standard term characterizing the researcher’s invention(s). For example, search terms included the scientist’s name and nanoparticle or lipid or lipid nanoparticle; scientist’s name and siRNA or mRNA; scientist’s name and tip or infusion; name of scientist and immun* or vaccine*; and name of scientist and SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 or coronavirus.

Results

The team selected 205 researchers and performed 449 PubMed searches on their work, resulting in 4,627 publications. These papers were combined with 20,825 exercises in RePORTER and merged into 2,676 unique NIH-funded grants.

The team uncovered 34 NIH research grants with total funding of $692 million directly associated with one of four critical discoveries in COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, including $116 million in pre-research funding. NIH pandemic covering 165 exercises. 603 additional NIH grants with funding of $5.9 billion were also identified.

Additional funding from BARDA and the Department of Defense brought total U.S. public investment for pre-pandemic research and development to nearly $337 million. This included a total of $31.9 billion from 1985 to March 2022, including vaccine research, development and supply spending.

Of the $337 million invested in research and development before the pandemic, $116 million came from the NIH, $148 million from BARDA, and $77 million from the Department of Defense. Additionally, the number of NIH-funded exercises has increased from that seen from 1985 to 2001 to 21 in 2019, with funding increasing from less than $1 million to more than $10 million.

The Department of Defense and BARDA provided most of the funding for vaccine development. BARDA funded the clinical trials, basic and translational science, and manufacturing capacity of the Zika mRNA vaccine with Moderna. The Department of Defense has invested in Moderna and CureVac.

From the start of the pandemic in 2020 through March 2022, the US government has spent at least $2.3 billion on research and development of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. Additionally, BARDA has funded Moderna’s clinical trials, while the NIH has funded other clinical trials, while also investing in manufacturing and basic or translational science.

The Department of Defense and BARDA have spent an additional $29.2 billion on pledges to purchase two billion doses of the vaccine. These pledges included doses intended for the vaccination of the American population and global donations of vaccines.

Moderna also received more than $18.1 billion, including $16.2 billion for vaccine supply. Pfizer-BioNTech received $13.1 billion, mostly for vaccine supply.

conclusion

The U.S. government has spent at least $31.9 billion to develop, create, and acquire COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, including substantial expenditures in the three decades before the pandemic and through March 2022. These public investments have saved millions of lives. Moreover, they were essential to the development of mRNA vaccine technology, which has the potential to fight future pandemics and treat other diseases. To maximize global health benefits, policymakers must ensure equitable access to publicly funded health technologies worldwide.