Orléans at the Forefront of mRNA Revolution: From Cancer Vaccines to Novel Therapies
Orléans, France – November 21, 2023 – A quiet revolution is underway at the Center de Recherche en Thérapie Génique (ART) in Orléans, as researchers unlock the vast potential of messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, extending far beyond its well-known success in COVID-19 vaccines. The work in Orléans focuses on tackling challenging diseases, including aggressive cancers like pancreatic cancer, and exploring mRNA’s applications in metabolic, rare, genetic diseases, and even allergies.
“RNA contains many other possibilities,” explains Chantal Pichon, director of ART, highlighting the breadth of potential applications. “It can be used to boost immunity or compensate for poor cell functioning…”
The global race to develop therapeutic mRNA vaccines is accelerating, with over 200 clinical trials currently in progress, primarily in the United States, spearheaded by industry giants like Moderna, Pfizer, BioNTech, Merck, and Sanofi, as well as a surge of young American companies. China and Japan are also heavily invested in the field, as evidenced by BioNTech’s recent $1.25 billion acquisition of fellow mRNA pioneer CureVac.
Despite the dominance of American companies, France boasts significant expertise in the field, with Pichon pointing to “pioneers like Éric Westhof in Strasbourg and RNA chemists, which is very rare.” ART Orléans plays a crucial role in the process, focusing on the critical steps of RNA production, encapsulation for safe delivery into the body, and rigorous testing for toxicity and efficacy.
“We produce different RNAs, we encapsulate them to be able to deliver them into the human body, and we test them on cells, to verify that there is no toxicity, and that it effectively works,” details Dimitri Szymczak.
A key area of innovation at ART is developing a cost-effective option to customary in vitro RNA production, which is often patented and expensive. By producing RNA in yeast, researchers aim to reduce costs by a factor of ten to fifty, though purification remains necessary to meet pharmaceutical standards.
Currently, a dedicated team is focused on a novel approach to treating pancreatic cancer, a disease with historically poor outcomes. Dr. Birane Beye, a gastroenterologist, notes the limited progress in survival rates: “We went from 5% in 2000 to 10% today, or five points better in twenty years, which proves that therapies such as chemotherapy or immunotherapy do not work very well.”
The team is pioneering a combined strategy utilizing an mRNA vaccine and high-frequency ultrasound technology. The mRNA vaccine aims to “teach immune cells to defend themselves against this very aggressive cancer,” while the ultrasound is designed to overcome the tumor’s protective barrier. “High frequency ultrasound, very powerful, are used for drive vibrations inside the tissues which will generate gas bubbles: by exploding, these bubbles will destroy the barrier surrounding pancreatic cancer, which looks a bit like a bunker, and allow the RNA vaccine to penetrate the tumor,” explains Dr. Beye.
“We combine the two to boost the treatment,” Pichon summarizes. Complementary research at the Toulouse cancer research center (CRCT) is focused on overcoming cancer’s resistance to chemotherapy.
While ultrasound-based technology has already demonstrated improvements in pancreatic cancer treatment outcomes, the efficacy of combining it with mRNA remains to be proven. Further funding will be critical to continue this promising research,notably as today,November 20th,marks World Pancreatic Cancer Day. The work in Orléans represents a significant step forward in harnessing the power of mRNA to address some of the most challenging medical conditions facing humanity.