Experimental approach uses AI to eliminate cold storage for mRNA vaccines
TEMPERATURE STORAGE OF MRNA VACCINES MAY BE NEAR
Using artificial intelligence, researchers may have found a way to make vaccines based on mRNA technology, such as Moderna’s (MRNA.O), opens new tab and Pfizer’s (PFE.N), opens new tab COVID shots, storable at room temperature, which would lower costs and make them available in regions where ultra-cold storage is not possible.
Presently, mRNA vaccines, including Moderna’s new flu shot, must be stored at extremely low temperatures, typically ranging from -40 to -123 degrees Fahrenheit (-40 to -86 Celsius).
That is because messenger RNA is extremely fragile and breaks down easily at higher temperatures.
With help from artificial intelligence, researchers tweaked the formulation of the lipid nanoparticles that carry the mRNA in the vaccines, making the particles more heat-resistant.
Using this approach, they formulated vaccines that could remain stable even when stored at room temperature for up to a year, or at nearly 100 degrees Fahrenheit for two months, according to a report published in Nature Biotechnology, opens new tab.
Mice that were vaccinated with these particles, even after long-term storage, showed equivalent immune responses to mice that received vaccines carried by lipid nanoparticles similar to the original formulation used by Moderna.
“Cold-chain requirements add considerable infrastructure costs throughout the product life cycle, including specialized packaging, ultra-cold storage, temperature-controlled transport and continuous monitoring,” the researchers noted in their report.
Vaccines that tolerate higher temperatures could reduce storage costs by up to 86%, they added.
“Our approach broadens the application of not only mRNA vaccines, but also therapeutics or advanced drug-delivery platforms like controlled-release particles or microneedle patches, which requires the formulation to either be in solid state or to be stable at higher temperature,” study leader Jinbi Tian of MIT said in a statement.
