Using a synthetic vaccine made by Moderna Therapeutics, researchers at Pfizer and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology managed to supercharge an immune system response against a key pathogen in a mouse model of tuberculosis.
Pfizer, the drug and vaccine giant, will continue to explore ways to use the vaccine and Moderna’s lipid nanoparticle technology to develop a range of monoclonal antibodies and vaccines that target cancer, infectious disease and other complex molecular targets. This study was only in mouse models, so those vaccines, if developed successfully, may not be used in humans for a couple of years. Moderna, which is based in Cambridge, Mass., has already had a few run-ins with the FDA over its genetically engineered modified lipids and components. This would be a bit more familiar territory for the biotech.
Despite promising results for Pfizer’s drug, the animal model may be far from the final word for how one should be developed into a human vaccine. This study suggested that this synthetic vaccine may be effective against the target, but there was a lot more to learn as it was developed. For one thing, Pfizer is looking for new enzymes that were not present in the mouse model. And it wants to know if the genetically modified proteins used in this synthetic vaccine act against an earlier generation of tuberculosis or the newer Gram-negative strain discovered in recent years.