Covid vaccine scientists awarded Nobel Prize

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Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman created the mRNA jabs used by Pfizer and Moderna

Article originally published by The Telegraph. Hargreaves Lansdown is not responsible for its content or accuracy and may not share the author's views. News and research are not personal recommendations to deal. All investments can fall in value so you could get back less than you invest.

Published by

03 Oct 2023

Two scientists who created the technology behind mRNA Covid vaccines have won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman worked together at the University of Pennsylvania to modify the building blocks of RNA to elicit a positive immune response from the genetic material.

The vital work laid the groundwork for both Pfizer and Moderna’s Covid-19 mRNA jabs which saved millions of lives. The US-based scientists started their work in the 1990s and combined Prof Kariko’s RNA expertise with Prof Weissman’s pedigree in immunological research.

Several breakthroughs in the late 2000s saw the pair discover how to make a desired immune response without triggering a negative inflammatory reaction from the immune system.

They did this by altering the building blocks of the RNA and throughout the 2010s scientists tried to use RNA technology to make a MERS and Zika vaccine. This foundation meant that when Covid was spreading rampantly in 2020