Alliance for mRNA Medicines Launched to Advance the Promise of This Revolutionary Technology

As the COVID-19 pandemic raged worldwide, the development of the first messenger RNA (mRNA)-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccine highlighted the overwhelming potential of mRNA technology, which prompted a new wave of scientific innovation. To advance this rapidly developing technological innovation, a group of 31 biotechnology, biopharma and life science companies, and educational institutions at the forefront of mRNA and next-generation encoding RNA therapeutics and vaccine development have launched the Alliance for mRNA Medicines (AMM).¹

The alliance has become, as well as the sector’s primary policy priorities in front of legislative and regulatory bodies in North America, Europe, and Asia. The launch of AMM was announced at the 11th International mRNA Health Conference in Berlin, Germany.

“This is a pivotal moment for mRNA medicines,” said Andy Geall, Chairman of the AMM Board and Co-Founder and Chief Development Officer of Replicate Bioscience, in a press release.¹ “The pandemic shone a bright light on the vast potential of mRNA technology to prevent disease and save lives. With the founding of the Alliance for mRNA Medicines, our community is now poised to champion scientific standards and public policies that will spur future mRNA breakthroughs—from halting chronic disease to erasing cancer. I am honored to lead the Alliance and to support AMM members in shaping the future of mRNA medicines.”

The stated mission of AMM is to propel the future of mRNA medicine, improve patients’ lives, and advance scientific knowledge by convening and empowering mRNA industry leaders, innovators, scientists, and other key stakeholders.

“mRNA science is already revolutionizing drug and vaccine development—and transforming our capacity to improve public health,” Roberta Duncan, AMM Board Member and Vice President, mRNA Program, CSL, said in a press release.¹ “Harnessing the full potential of this groundbreaking platform will require the shared commitment of scientists, policymakers, biotechnology and biopharma companies, governments and patients. AMM is the ideal organization to lead this critical effort—and I’m proud to help advance its mission for the benefit of patients worldwide.”

mRNA is a type of single-stranded RNA involved in protein synthesis and is comprised of a DNA template within the transcription process. mRNA is able to carry protein information from DNA within the cellular nucleus to the cytoplasm, in which the protein-making machinery translates the mRNA sequence and each 3-base codon into a corresponding amino acid in a growing protein chain.²

“So, we have DNA in our nuclei. And then we have ribosomes and other cellular organelles which translate DNA. But between the DNA code itself, and the machinery that uses DNA to make proteins, there has to be a translator,” said Shurjo K. Sen, PhD, Program Director, Division of Genome Sciences, National Human Genome Project.² “And mRNA is actually the translated form of DNA that the machinery can recognize and use to assemble amino acids into proteins. So this is really a fundamental link between what we think of as being the code of life and the actual cell being able to construct a living organism. And in that sense, although DNA gets discussed a lot more than RNA, mRNA is a really crucial piece of the fundamental way in which the living organism is created.”

The promise of mRNA was further recognized as this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Katalin Karikó, PhD, and Drew Weissman, MD, PhD, whose work on the basic science of mRNA would lead to the development of the vaccines that were essential in containing the COVID-19 pandemic.³

To advance the field even further, AMM is bringing together some of the most recognized mRNA innovators in the field with the goal of overcoming the primary challenges limiting the advancement of mRNA research, development, and manufacturing.

The alliance’s founding members include:

• Acuitas Therapeutics
• Akron Biotech
• Arcturus Therapeutics
• Australian National University
• BioNTech
• CSL
• Curapath
• CureVac
• Cytiva
• Cytonus
• Danaher
• De Novo Biotherapeutics
• Etherna
• Ethris
• Exothera
• Ginkgo Bioworks
• Johns Hopkins University
• Maravai LifeSciences
• MaxCyte
• Mayo Clinic
• MJH Life Sciences
• Nutcracker Therapeutics
• Precision for Medicine
• Providence Therapeutics
• Quantoom Biosciences
• Replicate
• Sail Biomedicines
• Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station
• Vernal Biosciences
• Verve Therapeutics
• Why We Vax

To learn more about AMM, visit mrnamedicines.org.

References

1. Thirty-One mRNA Leaders Launch First Global Organization Dedicated to Advancing mRNA Medicines. Alliance for mRNA Medicines. News release. Accessed November 1, 2023. https://mrnamedicines.org/thirty-one-mrna-leaders-launch-first-global-organization-dedicated-to-advancing-mrna-medicines/

2. National Human Genome Research Institute. Messenger RNA. Genetics Home Reference. https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/messenger-rna. Accessed November 1, 2023.

3. Caffrey M. Nobel Prize Awarded to Scientists Whose Work Led to Development of mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines. Pharmacy Times. Published October 2, 2023. Accessed November 1, 2023. https://www.pharmacytimes.com/view/nobel-prize-awarded-to-scientists-whose-work-led-to-development-of-mrna-covid-19-vaccines