According to the will of the two Biontech founders Sahin and Türeci, the first patients in Great Britain should soon receive an mRNA-based cancer vaccination. The studies could start as early as this year, they say. By 2030, the injection against cancer could be part of everyday treatment.
The Mainz-based pharmaceutical company Biontech has taken an important step towards bringing its mRNA-based cancer vaccines onto the market. The clinical studies on thousands of patients agreed in Great Britain are to begin this year, reports the “Spiegel”. The vaccine candidates, types of cancer and locations are currently being selected for this.
With its British partners, Biontech wants to ensure that the procedure soon becomes part of everyday treatment. “We believe that this will be possible on a larger scale for patients before 2030,” CEO Ugur Sahin told the magazine. The technology is far advanced. “In 2014, it took us three to six months to produce an individualized cancer vaccine; we’re currently at four to six weeks,” explained the company’s founder. “Our goal is to come in well under four weeks.”
There is also promising evidence of effectiveness, said Sahin’s wife Özlem Türeci, co-founder and medical director of Biontech. The company is currently researching several mRNA cancer vaccines. “For some of these candidates, we see evidence of clinical activity.” This means that the immune system is activated, “so that in some patients the cancer becomes visibly smaller or disappears and relapses occur less frequently”.
