Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2023 – mRNA vaccines

Context:

Medicine Nobel 2023 was awarded to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for their work in mRNA vaccines.

About Medicine Nobel 2023:

• Awarded for “discoveries concerning nucleoside base modification that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19”
• The laureates contributed to the unprecedented rate of vaccine development during the Covid-19 pandemic.
• 1^st vaccines to use the mRNA technology were those made by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna against COVID-19.

Methods for vaccine production before the COVID-19 pandemic

mRNA vaccines:

• In our cells, genetic information encoded in DNA is transferred to messenger RNA (mRNA), which is used as a template for protein production.
• mRNA vaccines don’t rely on a modified version of a virus to produce an immune response. 
• It employs modified mRNA to instruct the body’s cells to manufacture proteins that instruct the immune system to protect the body from a specific disease.
• They are a promising alternative to conventional vaccine approaches because
  • high potency,
  • capacity for rapid development
  • potential for low-cost manufacture and safe administration.
• Potential mRNA vaccines – influenza virus, Zika virus, rabies virus, some cancers, etc.
• Directly injectable mRNA vaccines have been employed in numerous cancer clinical trials.

Source: The Hindu

Previous year question

In the context of vaccines manufactured to prevent COVID-19 pandemic, consider the following statements:

1. The Serum Institute of India produced COVID-19 vaccine named Covishield using mRNA platform.
2. Sputnik V vaccine is manufactured using vector based platform.
3. COVAXIN is an inactivated pathogen based vaccine.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2022 Prelims]

(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (b)

Covishield
The Serum Institute of India produced a COVID-19 vaccine named Covishield but not using mRNA platform.
It has been prepared using the viral vector platform. In the vaccine, a chimpanzee adenovirus – ChAdOx1 – has been modified to enable it to carry the COVID-19 spike protein into the cells of humans.

With reference to recent developments regarding ‘Recombinant Vector Vaccines’, consider the following statements:

1. Genetic engineering is applied in the development of these vaccines.
2. Bacteria and viruses are used as vectors.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2021 Prelims]

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: (c)