The mRNA Day 2020
The mRNA Day 2020: Celebrating the Past, Present, and Future of mRNA Symposium features presentations by Dr. Katalin Kariko on the history of mRNA therapeutics and Dr. Drew Weissman on the future of mRNA medicines. The event also includes a live Q&A moderated by Dr. Anton McCaffrey, Senior Director of Emerging Science and Innovation at TriLink. In a series of seminal manuscripts, Drs. Kariko and Weissman showed that incorporation of modified nucleotides, such as pseudouridine, in mRNAs during in vitro transcription reduces innate immune responses that block mRNA expression. Another critical discovery was that High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) purification could remove contaminating double stranded RNA from mRNA preparations, further reducing innate immune stimulation. Dr. Kariko is now Senior Vice President at BioNTech RNA Pharmaceuticals, where she works on protein replacement therapies, while Dr. Weissman’s research at the University of Pennsylvania focuses on the development of mRNA-based vaccines.