Decades of heavy investment in mRNA technology by the US government paved the way for a COVID-19 vaccine

In a recent study published in BMJMoreresearchers are investigating US public funding for the development of a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine.

study: US public investment in the development of mRNA covid-19 vaccines: a retrospective cohort study. Image credit: Jason Raff / Shutterstock.com

Development of a COVID-19 vaccine

Creating a safe and efficient mRNA vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is one of the most important public health outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic. The effectiveness of the SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine has been made possible by scientific innovation and biotechnology advances over the past 30 years, as well as significant support from the United States and other countries.

As the pandemic began in 2020, the United States will make huge financial investments to complete clinical trials and advance funding to ensure millions of doses of the vaccine before it is fully proven to be safe and effective. Your purchase has been issued.

About research

In the current study, researchers evaluated US public investment in the development of a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine.

Three primary data sources were utilized to identify public funds. This includes the National Institute of Hydrology (NIH) Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool Expenditures and Results (RePORTER), the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) Healthcare Measures Portfolio, and the Department. of the defense contract database.

The team reviewed scientific data describing the history of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine development and considered four key inventions.These inventions include the development of lipid nanoparticles as drug delivery systems, production and modification of mRNA, small interfering RNA (siRNA), definition of the pre-fusion SARS-CoV-2 ‘spike’ protein structure, and RNA vaccine Biotechnology development for humans.

Using a patent network analysis of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, we identified 88 key patented inventions and links to companies licensing the technology. In addition, all inventors mentioned in these 121 patents have been identified. A list of additional researchers identified through published descriptions of mRNA vaccine development, news articles, and press releases was developed.

Two authors independently assigned each scientist’s contribution to one or more of the four inventions based on attribution and patent review. All potential inventions were included to maintain a comprehensive search technique.

Researchers created search terms by associating each scientist’s name with standard terms that characterize the researcher’s inventions. For example, search terms included the name of the scientist and nanoparticles or lipids or lipid nanoparticles. scientist name and his siRNA or mRNA; scientist name and spike or perfusion. Name of scientist and immunity* or vaccine*; name of scientist and SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 or coronavirus.

result

The team selected 205 researchers and performed 449 PubMed searches on their studies, leading to 4,627 publications. These articles were associated with his 20,825 fiscal years of RePORTER and consolidated into his 2,676 unique NIH-funded grants.

The team found 34 NIH research grants with a total of $692 million in funding directly related to one of four key discoveries within the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. This includes $116 million in pre-pandemic NIH research funding for 165 fiscal years. In addition, 603 of his NIH grants funding US$5.9 billion were also identified.

Further funding from BARDA and the Department of Defense increased total US public investment in pre-pandemic research and development to nearly $337 million. This includes a total of US$31.9 billion from 1985 to March 2022, including spending on research, development and vaccine supply.

Of the $337 million invested in research and development before the pandemic, $116 million came from NIH, $148 million from BARDA, and $77 million from the Department of Defense. In addition, the number of fiscal years funded by the NIH increased from one year observed from 1985 to 2001 to 21 years in 2019, with funding ranging from under $1 million to over $10 million. increased to

The Department of Defense and BARDA provided most of the funding for vaccine development. BARDA funded clinical trials, basic and translational science, and mRNA Zika vaccine manufacturing capacity with Moderna. The Department of Defense has invested in Moderna and CureVac.

From the beginning of the 2020 pandemic to March 2022, the US government has spent at least $2.3 billion on research and development of a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. In addition, BARDA funded the Moderna clinical trial, while the NIH funded other clinical trials, but investments were also made in manufacturing and basic or translational sciences.

The Department of Defense and BARDA have pledged to spend another $29.2 billion to purchase 2 billion doses of the vaccine. These pledges consisted of doses aimed at US mass vaccination and global vaccine donations.

Moderna also received more than $18.1 billion, of which $16.2 billion was for vaccine supplies. Pfizer-BioNTech received $13.1 billion from him, primarily for vaccine supplies.

Conclusion

The U.S. government has spent at least $31.9 billion to develop, produce and acquire a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. This includes the 30 years preceding the pandemic and his hefty spending through March 2022. These public investments have saved millions of lives. Furthermore, they were essential to the development of mRNA vaccine technologies that could fight future pandemics and treat other diseases. We need to ensure equitable access to publicly supported medical technology around the world.