Nobel Prize For Medicine/Physiology 2023

October 4, 2023
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN Topics

Nobel Prize For Medicine/Physiology 2023

Subject: Science and Tech

Section: Biotechnology

CONTEXT:

The 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has gone to scientists Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman, whose work enabled the development of mRNA vaccines against Covid-19 in record time.

Karikó and Weissman’s Contribution:

Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman made significant contributions to the development of mRNA vaccines:

They recognized that lab-grown genetically engineered mRNA was seen as foreign by the body’s dendritic cells, leading to an unwanted inflammatory response.
To address this, they introduced chemical modifications to the mRNA bases to mimic the altered bases found in RNA from mammalian cells. This greatly reduced the inflammatory response.
Their findings, published in 2005, paved the way for mRNA vaccine development.
Moderna and Pfizer used this technology to develop Covid-19 vaccines.

About mRNA Vaccines and their Working:

mRNA stands for messenger RNA, a molecule that carries genetic information from DNA to the protein-making machinery of the cell.
mRNA vaccines use synthetic mRNA that encodes a specific protein from a pathogen, such as the spike protein of the coronavirus.
When the mRNA vaccine is injected into the body, some of the cells take up the mRNA and use it to produce the protein. The protein then triggers an immune response that produces antibodies and memory cells that can recognize and fight the pathogen in the future.
mRNA vaccines are faster and cheaper to produce, as they do not require cell culture or complex purification processes.
mRNA vaccines are also more flexible and adaptable, as they can be easily modified to target new variants or strains of pathogens.

Corbevax is a RBD-protein subunit vaccine. This vaccine uses a recombinant protein platform that targets spike protein on the virus. The vaccine injects a volume of cloned spike proteins, instead of instructing cells to replicate it. It reduces the virus’ ability to cause any serious diseases

COVAX

COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access or COVAX is a global initiative aimed at equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines led by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and others.
It is one of the three pillars of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator, an initiative begun in April 2020 by the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Commission, and the government of France as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
COVAX aims to coordinate international resources to enable the equitable access of COVID-19 diagnostics, treatments, and COVID-19 vaccines. It aims for people in all corners of the world to get access to Covid-19 vaccines once they are available, regardless of their wealth.
The COVAX facility continually monitors the Covid-19 vaccine landscape to identify the most suitable vaccine candidates, based on scientific merit and scalability, and works with manufacturers to incentivize them (Ex- Serum Institute of India has received funds from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation).