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Afraser's avatar
Afraser
Member
3 years ago

MRNA cancer vaccines

The United Kingdom government has announced its plan to accelerate research into mRNA cancer vaccines in an agreement signed with pharmaceutical company BioNTech.

After the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, BioNTech will trial a cancer treatment in Britain using the same mRNA technology.

By the end of 2030, up to 10,000 people will receive the immunotherapy that will be tailored to individual tumours. BioNTech worked with Pfizer to develop the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine that was approved in late 2020.

Campaigners have called on the government to ensure any cancer vaccine that comes out of these trials must be set at a price that makes it accessible for all.

The next steps will be the selection of candidates and trial sites, with the aim of being ready to enrol the first cancer patient in the second half of 2023, the company said.

Scientists say mRNA vaccines could be a game-changer against many diseases because they provoke an immune response by delivering genetic molecules containing the code for key parts of a pathogen into human cells. 

  • arpie's avatar
    arpie
    Member
    3 years ago
    Sounds good. Hopefully it can help those with BC.
  • Cath62's avatar
    Cath62
    Member
    3 years ago
    Thanks @Afraser. I read this vaccine was going to be used for melanoma and was most excited as I have had 4 melanoma. I hope it can also be used for breast cancer. I  gathered from the article i read (which i can't seem to find now) that the vaccine would be used in advance melanoma cancer where other treatments have not been successful.