According to the British media reports such as " Guardian " and BBC, the founder of German biotech company BioNTech said on the 16th that mRNA new crown vaccine technology can be used to help destroy cancer cells. They have made major technological breakthroughs, which means that the cancer vaccine may be released before 2030, and this vaccine is highly expected to successfully prevent patients from recurring cancer.
cancer vaccine
has made a major breakthrough in technology.
Several cancer vaccines are in the clinical stage
Ugur Sahin and Ozran Toureli, co-founders of BioNTech, a German biotech company that cooperates with Pfizer in the United States to produce new crown vaccine , are a couple, both of whom are children of German Turkish immigrants. Sahin, 55, is CEO, and Toureli, 53, leads pharmaceutical research and is chief medical officer.
In an interview with the BBC on the 16th, the two said that cancer vaccines have made major technological breakthroughs, making them optimistic about the prospects for developing cancer vaccines in the next few years.
reported that BioNTech has been hoping to develop treatments for bowel cancer, melanoma and other cancer types, but there are still major obstacles ahead. The cancer cells that make up the tumor may contain many different proteins, and it becomes extremely difficult to create a vaccine that targets all cancer cells but not healthy tissues.
BioNTech now has several cancer vaccines in clinical trial stages, including intestinal cancer, skin cancer , etc. The biggest obstacle lies in how to manipulate the vaccine to kill tumor cells without harming healthy cells. Saxin said that the successful development of the new crown vaccine by Pfizer and BioNTech also promoted the company's work in developing cancer vaccines.
core technology
"Stand wanted posters on the street",
starts the immune system to attack cancer cells
in the interview Tureli mentioned how to reuse the core mRNA technology of the BioNTech new crown vaccine, so that it can start the immune system to attack cancer cells, train the human body to identify and eliminate cancer cells.
According to Toureli, the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine works by delivering genetic instructions for the new harmless, non-infectious new coronavirus spike protein into the human body, which are received by cells that produce spike proteins. These spike proteins produced, or antigen , will play a role similar to "posting wanted posters on the street", telling the immune system what antibodies and other defense systems should look for and what targets to attack.
Turelli said the same method can be used to activate the immune system in the human body to find destructive cancer cells and then remove cancer cells. Cancer vaccines do not carry codes that recognize viruses, but rather genetic instructions that contain cancer antigens, in which cancer cells can be destroyed in this same way.
usage method
is used in the early stages of cancer.
cannot prevent cancer but can prevent relapse
reported that recently, BioNTech released data on early stage clinical trials of cancer treatment. Patients with pancreatic cancer who received surgical removal of primary tumors achieved positive results after receiving the cancer vaccine.
Turelli said that the company has begun to rethink the development methods for mRNA cancer vaccines since the COVID-19 pandemic and has overcome many "critical obstacles". Early data showed that mRNA cancer vaccines triggered an immune response hundreds of times stronger than the traditional cancer vaccines previously reported. Traditional cancer drug development methods are to test new drugs in advanced disease, and cancer vaccines need to be used in early stages of the disease when the patient still has a functional immune system.
According to reports, the cancer vaccine that the company is developing is a therapeutic vaccine, which serves as a cancer treatment method, prompting the immune system to destroy cancer cells and thus prevent the recurrence of tumors.
Sahin said: "Researchers are looking at how to combine cancer vaccines with other medical methods to adapt the best combination for cancer patients.Our research goal is to "customize" the vaccine, create an exclusive vaccine for cancer patients undergoing treatment surgery, induce the patient's immune system, and allow the patient's T cells and to find the cancer cells in the body and annihilate it. "
It is reported that T cells are called T lymphocytes , which is an important part of the body's immunity. They mainly develop and mature in the thymus. The English letters of the thymus start with T, so they are called T cells.
is released when
is expected to be launched before 2030,
new crown vaccine experience accelerates the development of the new crown vaccine
Turelli said that the outbreak of the new crown epidemic has caused mRNA technology The COVID-19 vaccine has been truly confirmed and applied, and better understand the response of people's immune system to mRNA. The intensive and rapid development of the COVID-19 vaccine has also made pharmaceutical regulatory agencies more aware of how to approve the vaccine on the market. The success of the COVID-19 vaccine has inspired scientists to continue to develop mRNA cancer vaccines, and the experience of the COVID-19 vaccine will definitely help speed up the production of cancer vaccines.
When asked when the cancer vaccine is ready to be used on patients, Saxin said: "We think cancer can be cured, and we have mastered the key to changing the lives of cancer patients. The cancer vaccine may be launched by 2030. "
However, Toureli is still cautious about this work. She said: "As scientists, we are always reluctant to say that there are ways to cure cancer, but this is a breakthrough for humans in fighting cancer, and we will continue to work on these aspects." ”
When asked whether the cancer vaccine developed may fail, Toureli answered confidently, "No", "What we know about the immune system and the research results on vaccines show that we can induce T cell activity. "
patent dispute
mRNA technology has attracted attention,
hopes it will become a weapon against cancer
In fact, before the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, BioNTech has been studying mRNA cancer vaccine, and the team has studied mRNA technology for 20 years. But after the new crown epidemic is spreading around the world , the company has turned to producing mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and has become one of the most successful teams in developing COVID-19 vaccines and is also behind the Pfizer BNT vaccine.
In August this year, American biopharmaceutical company Moderna said it was suing BioNTech and its partner Pfizer in the United States for infringing on the patent of the company's COVID-19 vaccine. When asked about this, Shahin responded: "Our R&D is original, and we have invested 20 years to develop this treatment, which will certainly defend our intellectual property rights. "
US media reported that the success of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine has greatly increased public confidence in this technology, and has also made investors flock to explore the application of this technology in other diseases, hoping that it can become a weapon to fight cancer. Before 2015, mRNA treatment and vaccine development received less than $500 million, and by 2020, this figure has exceeded $9 billion.
At present, in addition to the US Moderna Company and Germany BioNTech Company, which first developed mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, are developing cancer vaccines, major pharmaceutical companies around the world are also eager to try. For example, the world's top pharmaceutical giant Sanofi spent $2.7 billion last year to acquire mRNA research company Translate Bio, in order to release the potential of mRNA in cancer treatment and other fields.
Huashang Daily Dafeng News Reporter Guo Ji, compiled and edited by Yang Dehe,
