Soon a vaccine to treat cancer patients? The pair of scientists behind the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against Covid-19 raised the possibility that such a serum could be developed “before 2030”, in an interview for the BBC.
Patrons de la société BioNTech, Ugur Sahin et Özlem Türeci expliquent que leurs travaux sur l’RNA messager (mRNA), qui ont permis de mettre au point leur vaccin dans le cadre de la pandémie, leur ont donné des pistes pour continuar la recherche contra cancer.
“We have a number of breakthroughs and we will continue to work on them,” the couple said.
Functioning similar to the anti-Covid vaccine
His company, launched in 2008, aims to work specifically on mRNA to develop scientific knowledge in this area and develop concrete medical applications. The action of this technology on different forms of cancer has been one of his specialties since the creation of the company.
“What we have developed for decades for cancer vaccine development has been the driving force behind the development of the Covid-19 vaccine, and now the Covid-19 vaccine and the experience we have gained during its development are useful to our work on cancer,” explains Özlem Türeci.
As with the Covid vaccine, the mRNA cancer vaccine project would work by sending a genetic instruction code to a cell to produce an antigen or protein. While for the virus responsible for Covid-19, SARS-CoV-2, it is the Spike protein of the virus that is targeted, it would be the tumor cells that would be targeted as part of a cancer vaccine. .
“On Our Strings”
“We believe that a treatment against cancer, or at least to change the lives of cancer patients, is within our reach,” the couple also stated, explaining that they do not limit their actions to research for the development of a vaccine. . after the success of the one against Covid-19.
BioNTech chiefs, however, prefer to be wary of any rash claims, preferring to wade through the uncertainty associated with developing a still-young mRNA technology at the scale of vaccine research.
“You know, scientists tend to show humility because nature and biology have many secrets and you only realize it when you enter this unknown territory that we have been exploring for three decades,” says Ozlem Tureci.
Source: BFM TV
