MIT-affiliated companies are forging ahead with COVID-19 related efforts, including Moderna Therapeutics, co-founded by Robert Langer, and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, co-founded by Phillip Sharp.
Moderna began human trials of its messenger RNA (mRNA) based COVID-19 vaccine just 65 days after the virus was first sequenced. mRNA holds the key to Moderna’s record-breaking turnaround, according to Daniel Anderson, as it allows for speedier identification of new sequences and development of vaccines compared to traditional vaccines based on viral proteins.
Alnylam’s partnership with Vir Biotechnology will now include developing therapeutics for coronavirus infections, including COVID-19. The collaboration will combine Alnylam’s recent advances in delivering its RNAi technology to the lungs with Vir’s infectious disease capabilities to identify and develop drug candidates.