Witness of a new era

Moderna annouced their pre-clinical data entitled “Systemic Messenger RNA Therapy as a Treatment for Methylmalonic Acidemia”. They showed positive results for methylmalonic acidemia/aciduria (MMA) murine models by treating with codon-optimized human methylmalonyl-CoA mutase (hMUT) mRNA. This, however is not even counted as their many clinical trials conducted at Moderna.

I was following the two scientists walk into a bar from Jane Grogan at Genentech, the title of the podcast was to memorize the wonderful science-business collaborations between Herbert Boyer and Robert A. Swanson, founders of the Genentech. And I’ve learned a little bit more history of the company and its fierce competition in producing the insuline using recombinant DNA technique. The situation of Genentech reminds me of mRNA-based therapy “hidden” biotech Moderna. Moderna was based on a Derrick J. Rossi’ s fabulous idea of “transplanting” the modified mRNA into human cells for treatment at 2010; while Genentech was build upon the DNA recombinant technique. So far, I think one of the amazing moment is breakthrough of modified nucleotide patent developed by Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman at the University of Pennsylvania, Jason Schrum soon found out a variant of pseudouridine called 1-methylpseudouridine. In the past of synthesizing insuline, Genentech won the war over Walter Gilbert at Harvard University. But what be happen between the mRNA-based therapies competition in the coming future as more companies are developing for RNA therapies, like Ionis, Alnylam, Editas…?