From Ideas to Action: The Moderna Vaccine Pipeline

The COVID-19 pandemic has the world’s economy in shambles. As countries scramble towards a solution, healthcare organizations are making progress by leaps and bounds to restore order around the world.

One way they’re helping to balance out reopening economies around the world is through the development of vaccines that protect vulnerable populations. The Moderna vaccine pipeline is one moving at a rate that feels promising to many politicians.

Check out this overview of how the Moderna vaccine is progressing at incredible odds. 

Who is Moderna?

Moderna Therapeutics is a biotech company based in Boston, Massachusetts. The company emerged as a hero in Spring 2020 when it announced it was quite confident about its ability to generate a vaccine for the fast-growing coronavirus.

Many people quickly dismissed the company’s claims as a publicity stunt. They hoped to generate hype over their products overall and used a coronavirus vaccine as the bait for potential investors. 

Why should the public trust that Moderna would be more capable of tried and true brands like Johnson and Johnson at creating a cure? The basis of Moderna’s products is mRNA.

mRNA is a molecule that communicates with the genes in your DNA to encourage cells to make more protein. They believe they can re-engineer this process into a variety of drugs and vaccines just as they’ve done in countless other trials.

This suddenly put Moderna in the spotlight for a plausible hero to a very tragic story of government helplessness. Moderna’s experience making sure our cells could create anything needed to block disease was more than a dream.

Since Spring 2020, Moderna has proven that they have more than theories. Investors have put more than $2 billion into the company in hopes of getting a fast turnaround on a vaccine.  

Now, the general public has turned a corner in its opinions of Moderna. Backed now with government funding, Moderna is dangerously close to a vaccine that could change the way humans interact with coronavirus. 

The Dawn of a Vaccine

Moderna isn’t giving away the secrets of its process, but the press is waiting with bated breath as the count the number of patent filings the company has on record. These filings demonstrate they’ve got something cooking that’s worth waiting for.

It’s not even possible to get all the details of clinical trial results for vaccines until well after they’re on record. But since investors entered the picture, the company is opening its doors to more questions from the press. 

Earlier this summer, Moderna moved into phase 3 of clinical trials. Phase 3 is when testing on humans begins. 

This is a record turnaround time for the development of any vaccine. Just ask Kenneth Chien. But pressure on Moderna to perform put them at a record-breaking 63 days to enter human trials.

They learned from trials in the first two phases that the mRNA worked successfully by neutralizing antibodies. These antibodies keep the immune system in top shape so it can prevent infection in the first place.

Think of this defense system as armor against coronavirus if everything works correctly. In early trials, only 8 out of forty-five people were able to fight it off.

Is Everyone Going to Be Safe?

Those aren’t bad odds, but with so many vulnerable people dying from COVID-19, there’s a demand for better stats. Moderna is continuing to work with immunologists to figure out why each test subject responded to the vaccine the way they did. 

There’s a race to the finish line that’s almost impossible for the public not to track in real-time. Moderna is promising to test around 30,000 people around the United States during phase 3 of testing.

They’re seeing whether things like geography, age, or immune condition affect how people respond to the vaccine. Many people hope they can protect people who are more likely to be hospitalized by coronavirus first.

Moderna’s priority is seeing whether their vaccine strategy keeps people from catching coronavirus and stops people from dying from the virus.

That’s a lot of pressure on one vaccine to be both a cure and a preventative option. 

How Do mRNA Vaccines Work?

Viruses are everywhere. When your immune system tried to recognize the best plan to fight it, they can call on inactive viruses we get from vaccines. 

Most biotech companies take time to develop these inactive viruses in labs. They have to be grown in a certain way so they’re safe for humans to use as vaccines. 

Moderna’s use of mRNA helps them take advantage of viral DNA. Cells can take little snippets of the genetics from the virus and use it as a blueprint to fight the disease.

It’s a type of mimicry that gives your immune system the data it needs to take action. 

Moderna Vaccine Pipeline Today

The Moderna vaccine is still well on its way. So far, they’ve proven their initial theories about the way mRNA can help the body fight off the virus.

The question of how the virus impacts different populations is still somewhat fuzzy. A recent announcement said that older adults now share the same results as younger populations in terms of fighting off the disease once they get it.

This is major news given the fact that mask-wearing is mainly to protect vulnerable populations. More industries could reopen if the Moderna vaccine proves successful.

Still, the rush to the end has come to a slow creep. Moderna is now predicting it’ll be Spring 2021 before a vaccine can be released to the public.

For more information and tips, visit our blog for updates.  

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