Nobel Prize Given To Researchers Behind mRNA Tech In Covid Vaccines

Topline

Dr Katalin Kariko and Dr Drew Weissman were awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Monday for their role in pioneering the technology to develop mRNA-based Covid-19 vaccines.

Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó.

PENN MEDICINE

Key Facts

The Nobel Committee announced the scientists were awarded the prize for “their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications” that led to effective mRNA shots being developed.

The formerly experimental technology was used to develop both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines and booster shots.

The announcement hailed the “impressive flexibility and speed,” with which vaccines using mRNA technology can be developed and updated.

Aside from being used in Covid-19 vaccines, the technology is now being trialed for developing therapeutics to treat cancer.

Crucial Quote

“Through their groundbreaking findings, which have fundamentally changed our understanding of how mRNA interacts with our immune system, the laureates contributed to the unprecedented rate of vaccine development during one of the greatest threats to human health in modern times,” the awarding committee said.

Big Number

971.9 million. That is how many mRNA Covid-19 vaccine doses have been distributed across the U.S. as of September 13, according to data published by the CDC. The Nobel announcement notes that 13 billion Covid vaccine doses have been administered to people across the globe so far, although that number includes shots other than the mRNA vaccines.

Key Background

Kariko, from Hungary, and Weissman, who is American, met each other in the 1990s while working at the University of Pennsylvania. Kariko serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine while Weissman is the professor overseeing vaccine research at the same school. Until last year, Kariko also served as BioNTech’s senior vice president. Kariko and Weissman’s key contribution to mRNA was their joint development of “nucleoside base modifications,” which prevented the unwanted inflammatory attack responses triggered by the administration of an mRNA shot, making it safe to use.

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