Moderna's groundbreaking coronavirus vaccine was designed in just 2 days
Susie Neilson ,
Andrew Dunn , and
Aria Bendix
Dec 19, 2020, 11:51 AM
How Moderna got ahead of the coronavirus
On January 6, Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel emailed Barney Graham, a vaccine researcher at the National Institutes of Health. Bancel was troubled by the mysterious virus outbreak in Wuhan. He then talked with Graham about developing a vaccine.
Moderna had been working with the NIH on vaccines since 2017, but had not yet gotten one approved. Graham signed on to the partnership.
On January 11, researchers from China published the genetic sequence of the coronavirus.
Two days later, Moderna's team and NIH scientists had finalized the targeted genetic sequence they would use in the vaccine.
"This is not a complicated virus," Bancel told
The New York Times.
By
February 24, Moderna had shipped its first vaccine batches to NIH scientists in Bethesda, Maryland. Researchers administered the first dose on March 16 in Seattle, Washington. That launched the first clinical trial of any coronavirus vaccine.
Nurse Kath Olmstead gives volunteer Melissa Harting an injection as part of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine trial, July 27, 2020. Hans Pennink/AP
Moderna's speed has led some to worry that the company sacrificed thoroughness. But that's not the case, according to Albert Rizzo, chief medical officer for the American Lung Association.
"We're not skipping steps — we actually have better technology," Rizzo told Business Insider. "Why did it take two weeks to cross the Atlantic back in the 1800s? Well, we had to go on a boat. Whereas now, you can get across the ocean in several hours."
The pros and cons of mRNA vaccines
For decades, vaccines contained a dead or weakened version of the virus itself. Then early advances in genetics allowed vaccines to use proteins made by the virus instead. That method was first used
in the 1980s to develop a vaccine for hepatitis B.
Companies like Novavax are relying on that protein-based model to create their coronavirus vaccine candidates. But Moderna's business has revolved around mRNA since it started in 2010.
An illustration of a coronavirus particle. The red, objects are the spike proteins. CDC
RNA vaccines' big advantage is the speed of development and production. But there are drawbacks. For one, both Pfizer and Moderna's vaccines require two injections. Pfizer is delivering its two shots three weeks apart, while Moderna's are four weeks apart.
The vaccines are also difficult to deliver and store. Pfizer's vaccine needs to be shipped at -94 degrees Fahrenheit, which requires dry ice and special freezers. Moderna's requires a temperature of -4 degrees Fahrenheit.
The biotech company designed its vaccine, which is highly effective, over two days in January — before many people had heard of the coronavirus.
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