Photo by NIH Image Gallery on Flickr.com
The Guardian has revealed that mRNA vaccinations that can help target cancer may be available for use before the end of this decade, according to Uğur Şahin and Özlem Türeci, the founders of the German business BioNTech. During their appearance on BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, the pair made this statement.
The genetic code for the Covid virus’s innocuous spike proteins is transported into the body by an mRNA Covid vaccination. Cells take up the instructions and produce the spike protein. The immune system’s antibodies and other defenses are subsequently given instructions by these proteins, known as antigens, on what to look for and fight.
According to Türeci, chief medical officer at BioNTech, the immune system can be stimulated in the same way to look for and eliminate cancer cells. The vaccine contains genetic instructions for cancer antigens, which are proteins that cover the surfaces of tumor cells, rather than information that detects viruses.
Prior to the pandemic, BioNTech was developing mRNA cancer vaccines; however, in response to the global emergency, the company switched to producing Covid vaccinations. The business is currently testing a number of cancer vaccinations. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, which is comparable to the Moderna Covid shot, was developed and is successful, according to Türeci, and “gives back to our cancer work.”
There are significant obstacles in the way of the German company’s efforts to create therapies for melanoma, bowel cancer, and other cancer types. Making a vaccination that targets only the cancer cells and leaves healthy tissues unaffected is particularly challenging since the cancer cells that make up tumors can be laced with a wide range of various proteins.
