Just last night, the highly anticipated 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was announced globally! Dr. Victor Ambros and Dr. Gary Ruvkun jointly won this award for their discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation. This award is not only a recognition of their individual contributions, but also a significant boost to global biomedical research. At the same time, this marks the second consecutive year that RNA technology has received the Nobel Prize, inspiring domestic pharmaceutical companies focusing on the research and development of nucleic acid drugs such as RNA and mRNA to explore the innovative applications of this cutting-edge technology with even greater determination.

The promising nucleic acid pharmaceutical technology.

In the past two years, whenever the Nobel Prize is announced, nucleic acid pharmaceutical technology becomes the focus of attention.

As early as last year when the Nobel Prize was announced, mRNA technology shone brightly, proving to the world its immeasurable role in disease prevention and treatment. From last year to now, the practices of many pharmaceutical companies at home and abroad have shown that mRNA technology not only plays a crucial role in the development of new coronavi** vaccines, but also has very broad application prospects in the development of large single-dose vaccines, as well as in the fields of infectious diseases and tumors.

The renowned company Moderna once publicly announced a series of ambitious research and development plans based on mRNA technology, aiming to launch as many as 15 new products in the next five years, and advance up to 50 mRNA drugs into clinical trials. Its projects cover areas such as cancer, rare diseases, and infectious diseases.

BioNTech has also announced the company's next development plan: the company will continue its ambitious research in new cancer therapies, including expanding its oncology product line to 20 projects, while simultaneously initiating clinical trials for four candidate mRNA vaccines in the field of infectious diseases.

In June of this year, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Moderna's respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine for adults aged 60 and above. This is the company's second product to enter the US market and the world's first mRNA vaccine targeting non-new coronavi** diseases.

Its commercial prospects are also considerable, with Moderna's full-year sales guidance for 2024 reaching around $4 billion, including revenue from the RSV vaccine.

The microRNAs that won awards this year also have wide-ranging potential applications in the fields of medicine and pharmaceutical research. Through further in-depth research on the mechanisms of action of microRNAs in cell differentiation, biological development, and disease progression, microRNAs are expected to become important tools for disease detection and treatment in the fields of tumors, cardiovascular diseases, metabolism, inflammation, skin, etc., injecting new vitality into the development of personalized and precision medical care.

Chinese companies entering the gold track.

According to incomplete statistics, there are currently more than 10 domestic companies entering the RNA drug market, including Sinovac Biotech, Youcare Pharmaceutical Group, Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals, CSPC Pharma, etc., as well as more than 10 companies focusing on mRNA vaccine research and development, including AIMMUNE Vaccines, Walvax Biotechnology, and more. Among them, AIMMUNE Vaccines undoubtedly holds a leading position in the industry in terms of vaccine pipeline layout and industrialization capabilities.

According to AIMMUNE Vaccines' 2024 semi-annual report disclosure, the company is one of the earliest developers of mRNA vaccine products in China, and also one of the first domestic vaccine companies to obtain independent patents for mRNA technology. It has a mature mRNA vaccine research and development system and has developed several mRNA candidate vaccines, including mRNA rabies vaccine, mRNA RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) vaccine, mRNA herpes zoster vaccine.

In addition, AIMMUNE has established a sound mRNA vaccine quality management system and a GMP-compliant commercial-scale production workshop. Vaccines produced on the mRNA technology platform have also been clinically tested and verified. AIMMUNE has now established a complete process for the entire lifecycle of mRNA vaccine research and production. After obtaining clinical approval, it can quickly achieve industrialization of mRNA vaccine products and accelerate the commercialization process of vaccine products.

AIMMUNE is steadily advancing towards this goal. The company's mRNA RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) vaccine and mRNA herpes zoster vaccine have submitted clinical trial applications to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) of the National Medical Products Administration. By submitting applications in both China and the USA, it has laid the foundation and framework for the future global market entry of these two products.

The mRNA iteration rabies vaccine developed by the company, with pre-clinical research results in crab-eating macaques, mice, and rats, was published in the international authoritative academic journal "npj Vaccines," showing that this mRNA rabies vaccine provides 100% safe and effective immune protection with just two doses.

Looking ahead, AIMMUNE states that it will continue to focus on key technologies of the mRNA platform and rapidly advance the research and registration of new products, focusing on unmet clinical needs in core disease areas.

The efforts of leading companies happen to align with the forecasts of international authoritative institutions. According to a review in Nature Review, by 2035, the total market size of global mRNA preventive and therapeutic pharmaceuticals is expected to reach 30 billion US dollars, with the market size of preventive vaccines expected to reach 12 to 15 billion US dollars; the market size of personalized tumor vaccines will reach 7 to 10 billion US dollars; the market size of protein replacement therapy is approximately 4 to 5 billion US dollars. During the period from 2025 to 2035, the compound annual growth rate of the mRNA therapy market will reach 68%.