- Person
- Drew Weissman
- Lived
- b. 1959
- Field
- Immunology
- From
- American
The story
When the first mRNA COVID-19 vaccines were approved in December 2020, supplies were limited, and many low- and middle-income countries faced a long wait. Drew Weissman, whose research with Katalin Karikó had made those vaccines possible, wanted the technology to reach more of the world, and he chose to share his expertise with scientists in countries that might not have immediate access to the commercial vaccines.
Weissman has a long-running collaboration with researchers at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. Working with the university's Vaccine Research Center, he set out to help develop and provide COVID-19 vaccines for Thailand and neighbouring low- and middle-income countries. The result was ChulaCov19, a nucleoside-modified mRNA vaccine developed in Thailand, with Weissman and his Penn colleague Mohamad-Gabriel Alameh advising on the product.
The vaccine moved into human trials during the pandemic itself. In a randomised, placebo-controlled phase 2 study in Bangkok, which began screening volunteers in July 2021, 150 healthy adults aged 18 to 59 received either two doses about three weeks apart or a placebo. The vaccine was well tolerated, no serious side effects were linked to it, and every vaccinated participant developed neutralising antibodies. The results, with Weissman among the authors, were published in Scientific Reports.
As important as the vaccine itself was the capacity built around it. The programme, supported by the Thai government and by public donations, aimed to give Thailand the ability to develop, manufacture, test and register mRNA vaccines. Local manufacturing was set up with BioNet-Asia, and a clinical batch made in Thailand went into further trials in Thailand and Australia.
The project showed that mRNA vaccine science did not have to stay inside a handful of large companies in wealthy countries. A university in Southeast Asia, working with one of the technology's pioneers, designed its own mRNA vaccine and took it into clinical trials, building skills that can help the region respond faster to future pandemics. The Lasker Foundation counts this work with researchers in low- and middle-income countries among Weissman's continuing contributions.
Why it matters
Weissman's partnership helped bring mRNA vaccine expertise to Southeast Asia, widening access to life-saving technology beyond the richest countries.
About Drew Weissman
Immunologist; 2023 Nobel Prize for the mRNA discoveries that made the COVID vaccines possible.
More about Drew Weissman
- Weissman's 2005 discovery made mRNA safe to use as medicineIn 2005 Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó showed that chemically modifying the bases in lab-made mRNA almost abolished the inflammatory reaction it caused, a key step toward mRNA vaccines.
- Weissman helped wrap mRNA in protective nanoparticlesDrew Weissman and Katalin Karikó helped overcome a second obstacle to mRNA medicine by packaging the fragile molecule in lipid nanoparticles that protect it until it reaches its target.
- Weissman is developing a pan-coronavirus vaccineDrew Weissman's laboratory at Penn is researching next-generation mRNA vaccines, including a pan-coronavirus vaccine, plus gene editing and treatments for inflammatory diseases.
- Weissman's work underpins Pfizer and Moderna vaccinesDrew Weissman's work became the key foundation of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, both approved in December 2020 with protection of around 95%.
Sources
- Drew Weissman Wikipedia
- Phase II prefusion non-stabilised Covid-19 mRNA vaccine randomised study Scientific Reports (via PubMed Central)
- Modified mRNA vaccines (2021 Lasker~DeBakey Award) Lasker Foundation
Another act of tikkun olam. This is part of tikkun olam, the Jewish idea of repairing the world, and every one of us can add to it.