mRNA (messenger RNA) Technology is a groundbreaking platform for developing vaccines and therapeutics that gained global prominence with the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike traditional vaccines that use weakened or inactivated viruses or viral proteins, an mRNA vaccine delivers a synthetic snippet of messenger RNA. This mRNA contains the genetic instructions for a human cell to temporarily produce a specific protein (an antigen) associated with a disease.
Once the mRNA is introduced into the body (often encased in a protective Lipid Nanoparticle (LNP)), the recipient’s cells read the instructions and produce the antigen. The immune system recognizes this protein as foreign and builds a targeted response, conferring immunity. Beyond infectious disease vaccines, mRNA technology is being rapidly advanced for use in cancer immunotherapy, where it can instruct the body to produce specific tumor antigens, and in various therapeutic applications to replace missing or faulty proteins, making it a highly flexible and rapidly scalable manufacturing platform in the biotech space.
