3-10-2023 (STOCKHOLM) Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their groundbreaking work in the field of messenger RNA (mRNA). Their tireless dedication and scientific ingenuity have led to the development of potent Covid-19 vaccines that have been administered to billions of people around the world. This milestone achievement has played a pivotal role in averting tens of millions of deaths and facilitating the global recovery from the most severe pandemic in a century.
The mRNA approach pioneered by Karikó and Weissman has revolutionized vaccine technology and paved the way for potential inoculations against a spectrum of life-threatening diseases, including cancer. Despite the remarkable success of mRNA-based Covid vaccines, a formidable anti-vaccine movement, particularly in the United States, has emerged. This movement has leveraged the rapid vaccine development, one of the most extraordinary feats of modern medical science, to undermine public trust in vaccination.
It is essential to recognize that the path to these life-saving vaccines was a journey of painstaking research spanning decades, including crucial contributions made at the University of Pennsylvania, where Dr. Drew Weissman leads a research lab.
Dr. Weissman received the news of his Nobel Prize win through a text message from Dr. Karikó, who inquired if he had heard from Thomas yet. Perplexed, Dr. Weissman asked, “No. Who’s Thomas?” It turns out that Thomas Perlmann was from the Nobel committee and was seeking Dr. Weissman’s phone number.
Dr. Katalin Karikó’s journey to the Nobel Prize was marked by years of struggle, during which she lacked funding and a permanent academic position. She persevered by collaborating with more senior scientists at the University of Pennsylvania. She was even denied a grant, with the university deeming her “not faculty quality,” which led to her retirement a decade ago. She currently holds the position of an adjunct professor at the university as she pursues her plans to establish a company with her daughter, Susan Francia, an MBA holder and two-time Olympic gold medalist in rowing.
Dr. Karikó’s dedication to mRNA research, which instructs cells to create proteins, defied the prevailing belief that mRNA was clinically unusable. Dr. Weissman, an immunologist and virologist, was searching for innovative approaches to an HIV vaccine, an endeavor that had proven elusive for years. They embarked on an ambitious venture to create an HIV vaccine using mRNA, even though it seemed like a fringe idea with little chance of success.
The early stages of their research were marred by challenges. Mice injected with mRNA became lethargic, and countless experiments failed. The immune system’s response to mRNA as an invader, resulting in attacks on the mRNA, complicated their efforts. However, their breakthrough came when they discovered a chemical modification that protected mRNA within cells. Applying this modification to laboratory-synthesized mRNA allowed it to be taken up by cells without triggering an immune response.
Their discovery transformed our understanding of how mRNA interacts with the immune system, facilitating the rapid development of vaccines during a global health crisis. Despite the groundbreaking nature of their work, it faced initial rejection by prominent journals, such as Nature and Science, and was only published in a niche journal called Immunity.
However, their work caught the attention of two biotech companies, Moderna in the United States and BioNTech in Germany, where Dr. Karikó eventually held the position of senior vice president. These companies explored the use of mRNA vaccines for various diseases, including the flu and cytomegalovirus, though clinical trials took years.
The advent of the Covid-19 pandemic provided the catalyst for the convergence of Drs. Karikó and Weissman’s research with other critical findings, enabling vaccine makers to rapidly develop effective shots. By late 2020, within less than a year of the pandemic’s onset, regulators authorized highly effective vaccines produced by Moderna and BioNTech in partnership with Pfizer, both utilizing the mRNA modification pioneered by Dr. Karikó and Dr. Weissman.
In the United States, over 400 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and 250 million doses of the Moderna vaccine have been administered. Millions more have received these vaccines worldwide, underscoring the role of mRNA technology in facilitating vaccine updates to combat emerging variants.
Dr. Katalin Karikó’s journey to the Nobel Prize is emblematic of her perseverance against adversity and her contribution to expanding the role of women in science. She is the 13th woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine since 1901 and the first since 2015. This achievement underscores the need for greater gender representation in scientific fields and award recognition.
The impact of mRNA technology extends beyond Covid-19 vaccines, with ongoing research aimed at developing vaccines for diseases such as influenza, malaria, and HIV, which remains a challenging target. Personalized cancer vaccines, using mRNA tailored to a patient’s tumor, have also shown promise in training the immune system to target tumor-specific proteins.
The scientific community widely acknowledges the pivotal role played by Drs. Karikó and Weissman in enabling mRNA vaccines to bypass the immune system’s destruction, allowing for efficient production of vaccine proteins. Their tireless dedication to fundamental research over many years laid the foundation for the rapid deployment of mRNA technology in 2020, made possible by global collaboration.
