Moderna - Model mRNA - RNA Technology
At Moderna, we are delivering on the promise of mRNA science to create a new generation of transformative medicines for patients.
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Scientists have been studying mRNA for decades. And mRNA vaccines are just the start.
An mRNA can teach the body how to make a specific protein that can help your immune system prevent or treat certain diseases.
Your body contains trillions of cells, the basic units of life. And every cell contains proteins.
Proteins are the 'workhorses' of your cells. And your body makes >100,000 different kinds of proteins.
For example, insulin is a protein that helps the body control sugar levels in the blood. In people with Type I diabetes, their body doesn't make enough insulin.
When the body doesn’t make the right amount or type of protein, it can cause conditions like cancer or metabolic diseases.
Proteins are essential for maintaining health and preventing disease.
Proteins are made in a process called protein synthesis. And that's where mRNA comes in.
Each mRNA carries instructions to make a specific protein. These instructions are like a “blueprint.” mRNA delivers these instructions, and cells put the protein together.
Scientists design each mRNA to give cells directions to make a particular protein.
To protect the mRNA and help deliver it into cells, the mRNA is wrapped with lipids, or fats.
mRNA vaccines are given as an injection. Future mRNA treatments might be delivered by an infusion.
Once the vaccine is delivered, the body takes over and makes the protein according to the mRNA’s instructions.
mRNA doesn’t stay in the body very long once its job is done. And it does not cause permanent changes or alter DNA.
mRNA’s Role In Protein Synthesis?
- Through a process known as transcription, an RNA copy of a DNA sequence for creating a given protein is made.
- This copy – mRNA – travels from the nucleus of the cell to the part of the cell known as the cytoplasm, which houses ribosomes. Ribosomes are complex machinery in the cells that are responsible for making proteins.
- Then, through another process known as translation, ribosomes ‘read’ the mRNA, and follow the instructions, creating the protein step by step.
- The cell then expresses the protein and it, in turn, carries out its designated function in the cell or the body.
Using mRNA to Develop a New Category of Medicines.
At Moderna, we are leveraging the fundamental role that mRNA plays in protein synthesis. We have developed proprietary technologies and methods to create mRNA sequences that cells recognize as if they were produced in the body. We focus on diseases where enabling targeted cells to produce – or turn ‘on’ – one or more given proteins will enable the body to fight or prevent a given disease.
- We start with our desired sequence for a protein.
- We design and synthesize the corresponding mRNA sequence – the code that will create that protein.
- Before synthesis, we also engineer that mRNA sequence to optimize the mRNA’s physical properties, as well as those of the encoded protein.
- We deliver the mRNA sequence to the cells responsible for making that protein via one of several modalities. Reaching different types of cells requires different delivery methods.
- And, once the mRNA – the instructions – are in the cell … human biology takes over. Ribosomes read the code and build the protein, and the cells express the protein in the body.
Using mRNA as a drug opens up a breadth of opportunities to treat and prevent disease. mRNA medicines can go inside cells to direct protein production, something not possible with other drug approaches. We have the potential to treat or prevent diseases that today are not addressable – potentially improving human health and impacting lives around the world
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