BioNTech has recently emerged into the mainstream due to its production of COVID vaccines, but the company was initially established in 2008 for the purpose of developing and producing treatments for individualized immunotherapy—in other words, the stimulation of an individual’s immune system to fight diseases, including cancer. Their work involved mRNA technology, in which personalized mRNA vaccines are developed to recognize specific tumors. During the height of the pandemic, BioNTech shifted its goal to developing an mRNA COVID vaccine, where the same technology is used. These vaccines accelerated BioNTech’s efforts in cancer research by launching mRNA technology into the mainstream and speeding up research worldwide.
As for how the mRNA technology actually works, BioNTech’s prospective vaccine is a treatment for existing cancer, rather than a preventative vaccine. The process involves sequencing a patient’s tumor, selecting proteins that are likely to stimulate an immune response, synthesizing mRNAs out of said proteins, and injecting the mRNA vaccine in hopes of activating the patient’s T-cells; activated T-cells recognize and attack specific tumor proteins. Because of the success of mRNA technology in COVID-19 patients, many researchers are optimistic about its results in cancer patients.
However, others disagree, claiming that leaders in the oncology industry have been promising a cancer cure for the past 70 years. Instead, they look toward the prevention of cancer rather than a cure. According to them, 42% of all cancers in the US are due to identifiable causes such as smoking, obesity, and general overeating. In this case, the way to step away from this “carcinogenic way of life” would be to promote healthier habits.
In any case, BioNTech is moving forward with Phase 2 clinical trials for a melanoma vaccine called BNT111, which supposedly encodes four cancer-specific antigens optimized for immunogenicity; 90% of melanoma cases display at least one of these antigens. Even if BioNTech is unsuccessful, the fields of immunology and personalized medicine are rapidly expanding…look for our future posts to learn more!
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