Mary Wilson
Well-known member
06 December 2023
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-03859-w
By Elie Dolgin
The approval of yet another RNA-based vaccine for COVID-19 might not seem momentous. But the endorsement last week by Japanese authorities of a jab against SARS-CoV-2 constructed using a form of RNA that can make copies of itself inside cells — the first ‘self-amplifying’ RNA (saRNA) granted full regulatory approval anywhere in the world — marks a pivotal advance.
The new vaccine platform could provide potent defence against various infectious diseases and cancers. And because it could be used at a lower dose, it might have fewer side effects than other messenger RNA (mRNA) treatments have.
When used as a booster in clinical testing, the newly authorized vaccine, ARCT-154 — developed by Arcturus Therapeutics in San Diego, California, and its partner CSL, a biotechnology firm headquartered in Melbourne, Australia — triggered higher levels of virus-fighting antibodies[SUP]1[/SUP] that circulated the body for longer than did a standard mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.
Researchers have been trying to make saRNA vaccines a reality for more than 20 years. “Being the first to bring an approval for this platform is pretty huge,” says Roberta Duncan, RNA-programme leader at CSL and vice-chair of the Alliance for mRNA Medicines, ...
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03859-w
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-03859-w
By Elie Dolgin
The approval of yet another RNA-based vaccine for COVID-19 might not seem momentous. But the endorsement last week by Japanese authorities of a jab against SARS-CoV-2 constructed using a form of RNA that can make copies of itself inside cells — the first ‘self-amplifying’ RNA (saRNA) granted full regulatory approval anywhere in the world — marks a pivotal advance.
The new vaccine platform could provide potent defence against various infectious diseases and cancers. And because it could be used at a lower dose, it might have fewer side effects than other messenger RNA (mRNA) treatments have.
When used as a booster in clinical testing, the newly authorized vaccine, ARCT-154 — developed by Arcturus Therapeutics in San Diego, California, and its partner CSL, a biotechnology firm headquartered in Melbourne, Australia — triggered higher levels of virus-fighting antibodies[SUP]1[/SUP] that circulated the body for longer than did a standard mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.
Researchers have been trying to make saRNA vaccines a reality for more than 20 years. “Being the first to bring an approval for this platform is pretty huge,” says Roberta Duncan, RNA-programme leader at CSL and vice-chair of the Alliance for mRNA Medicines, ...
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03859-w