A disruptive drug platform: carefully designed molecules called messenger RNA that prompt the body to make its own medicine. Used by all living things to make proteins, messenger RNA is one of the least explored frontiers of drug discovery.

 

Cells use mRNA to translate the static genes of DNA into dynamic proteins, involved in every bodily function. Biotech  companies make some of these proteins as drugs in large vats of genetically engineered cells. It’s a time-consuming  and costly process.

 

What if instead, mRNA was given therapeutically? In theory, it could prompt proteins to be made in your body. It would put the drug factory inside you.  There is  the promise that mRNA can be turned into a powerful treatment for genetic diseases, cancer, infectious diseases,  and more.

 

Biologics are now the fastest-growing segment of the drug industry, and in theory, mRNA could replace them all. This is a 20-year job, and the revolution is just starting.