Hungarian biochemist Katalin Karikó and American immunologist Drew Weissman were the winners; RNA immunizers, developed in record time, were instrumental in the victory against the pandemic
OR Nobel prize of Physiology and Medicine this year went to the person responsible for the creation of the mRNA vaccine technology: the Hungarian biochemist Katalin Kariko and the American immunologist Drew Weissmann. The duo’s discoveries, the result of basic scientific research, led to the development of vaccines against Covid-19 in record time in 2020, less than a year after the emergence of the new coronavirus. This was the main weapon available to humanity to stop the largest pandemic of the last century, which claimed almost 7 million victims (of which 700 thousand in Brazil).
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2023 #Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for their discoveries regarding modifications of nucleoside bases that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19. pic.twitter.com/Y62uJDlNMj
— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 2, 2023
The announcement of the winners was made this Monday 2nd in Sweden. In addition to the medal and diploma, the winners take home a significant sum of money, 11 million Swedish kronor (approximately R$4.8 million). The Medicine Prize has been awarded since 1901, the year in which the prize originated, following the guidelines left posthumously in the will of the Swedish chemist and inventor Alfred Nobel (1833-1896).
mRNA is a genetic material synthesized in the laboratory that has the function of “carrying instructions” for cells to act. In the case of the Covid-19 vaccine, it causes cells to produce a viral protein that will be recognized by the immune system as a threat, leading to the production of antibodies.
The two researchers found that this technique can be used to block the activation of inflammatory reactions and increase protein production when mRNA is delivered to cells. They published the results of the investigation in 2005, but they received lukewarm attention from the scientific community.
There were initially obstacles to the clinical use of the technology, as the mRNA produced in vitro was unstable and increased inflammatory reactions. Over the years, however, the two researchers (who met at the University of Pennsylvania, in the United States) have managed to produce different types of mRNA and practically eliminate this inflammatory response.
Only since 2010 have two biotech companies founded, one German and one American, decided to invest in the technology. BioNTech and Moderna (maybe you will remember these names due to the pandemic), the first companies to present extraordinary efficacy results for an anti-covid vaccine (95% and 94% respectively).
In 2013, Katalin was invited to work at BioNTech, which was testing RNA technology in cancer treatments. With the health crisis of 2020, the Hungarian, already in the role of vice president of the company, participated in the development of the vaccine created in partnership with Pfizer.
Until then there was no registered vaccine in the world using RNA technology. The speed of development and high effectiveness rate of the new products surprised the academic society. The expectation is that, in the future, the vaccine will be used for other diseases, such as various types of cancer.
Katalin Karikó is the thirteenth woman to win the award
In more than a century of recognition, only 12 women have received the Nobel Prize in Medicine before Katalin Karikó. The first of them was only in 1947, the American Gerty Cori, who shared the honor with two men. One of them was her husband, Carl Ferdinand Cori, with whom she developed essential research for a better understanding of diabetes.
The only woman to win the prize without sharing it with other scientists in this category was Barbara McClintock, in 1983, for her discoveries on the so-called “jumping genes”, which pass through the genome and are capable of moving and replicating in segments of the DNA.
In 1951 the Nobel Prize for medicine also praised the development of another vaccine: against yellow fever. The winner was the South African microbiologist Max Theiler.
The geneticist won in 2022
Last year, the big winner was Swedish geneticist Svante Paabo, responsible for sequencing the DNA of Neanderthals, an extinct species of hominid. Paabo was also responsible for the discovery of a new species of hominid, the Denisovans. And, most importantly: the geneticist demonstrated how these currently extinct hominids were related to the Homo sapiens 70 thousand years ago, when our ancestors began to leave Africa to conquer the rest of the planet, leaving us part of their genetic code.
In 2021 the Nobel Prize in Medicine went to David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian “for the discovery of temperature and touch receptors”. The previous year, Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice were honored for the discovery of the hepatitis C virus. William G Kaelin, Peter J. Ratcliffe and Gregg L. Semenza were honored in 2019 “for having discovered how cells adapt to the environment and the availability of oxygen”.
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
