To listen to opponents of federal support for “messenger” RNA research, one might think this science arose out of nowhere during the Covid-19 pandemic and lacks time-tested guardrails for safety.
In fact, the roots of research into the relationship between ribonucleic acid (RNA) and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), both of which are found in most human cells, go back more than 50 years — with one of the earliest breakthroughs being Nobel prize-winning efforts at the UW-Madison.
The work of the UW’s late Howard Temin is part of a solid foundation that deserves more exploration by scientists, as opposed to the decision by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to wind down 22 mRNA projects with a combined $500 million worth of investment.
Temin and David Baltimore won the 1975 Nobel Prize for discovering a process challenging previous dogma that genetic information flowed only from DNA to RNA, not vice versa. This process was called “reverse transcription” and the type of RNA that carries the load is “messenger” RNA, abbreviated as mRNA. That early work led to greater understanding over time of how viruses work and possible therapies to combat them.
While targeted mRNA research didn’t begin right away, the dawn of such work was still well before the COVID-19 epidemic — and it continues today.
“In 2020, when the first genetic sequence of the new coronavirus was posted online, scientists were ready,” wrote Rick Bright, former director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority.
Bright noted that development of a COVID-19 vaccine began within hours and human safety trials began within weeks — all because mRNA research in general was launched decades earlier and accelerated in 2016 to combat the Zika virus.
Here’s why such research is important: Viruses mutate as they replicate within human cells, and vaccinations using mRNA therapies leverage the body’s cellular machinery to produce medicines directly with a patient’s own cells.
Temin’s legacy is alive today on the UW-Madison campus through efforts to resolve the unstable nature of mRNA therapies, which must be stored at ultra-cold temperatures that limit their use to certain clinics.
William Murphy, a professor of biomedical engineering, and others are working on ways to store such vaccines at room temperatures and to be accessible in pill form. Co-investigators are Suresh Marulasiddappa, Douglas McNeel and Jorge Osario, who each bring different scientific disciplines to the problem.
Some funding for that “shelf-stable” research project comes through the UW-Madison’s internal Research Forward initiative, which is also supported by the 100-year-old Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and other private sources.
If successful, the project could help fight other dangerous conditions, such as prostate cancer, osteoarthritis, spinal cord problems and the H5N1 influenza, better known as bird flu. Other cancer therapies are seen as possible by scientists elsewhere.
Under current DHSS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the government’s skepticism about mRNA therapies rests on a belief that current vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections; a perceived lack of public trust; and a desire to shift to other platforms, such as “whole-cell” vaccines.
That’s a shift from President Trump’s first term, which successfully launched “Operation Warp Speed” in 2020 to accelerate COVID-19 development using mRNA.
It’s one thing to remain skeptical but quite another to cut off funding for all mRNA research projects when there are decades of scientific foundation upon which to build and learn more.
What’s the bigger risk: Spending money on mRNA refinements that don’t necessarily pan out, or a global pandemic that lacks an antidote and a head start on quickly producing one? The answer should be clear.
