Nobel Prize goes to scientists who made mRNA COVID vaccines possible
A biochemist born in Hungary and an American immunologist have won the 2023 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for research that led to the development of the two most important COVID-19 vaccines.
Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman met at copy machine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and collaborated for decades to try to find ways to use genetic material called messenger RNA, or mRNA, to make vaccines.
The scientists discovered that modifying a chemical building block of mRNA kept the immune system from destroying the material and enabled it to instead stimulate protection against viruses. They published a seminal paper describing their work in 2005.
When the pandemic erupted, the vaccines developed by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech used the pair's techniques to create highly safe and effective vaccines in record time.
"MRNA vaccines, together with other COVID-19 vaccines, have been administered over 13 billion times," Rickard Sandberg, a Nobel committee member said Monday in announcing the award. "Together they have saved millions of lives, prevented severe COVID-19, reduced the overall disease burden and enabled societies to open up again."
The advance also spurred interest in using mRNA technology to find out diseases, ranging from the flu to possibly cancer, the committee said.
The committee members said they hope the award might help overcome some of hesitancy that has plagued efforts to get more people to get vaccinated against COVID and save even more lives.
The pair's discovery "fundamentally changed our understanding of how mRNA interacts with our immune system," the panel that awarded the prize said. In addition, the work "contributed to the unprecedented rate of vaccine development during one of the greatest threats to human health in modern times."
Speaking to reporters at the University of Pennsylvania Monday, Weissman, 64, said the pair had to overcome many obstacles.
"We couldn't get funding. We couldn't get publications. We couldn't get people to notice RNA as something interesting. And pretty much everybody gave up on it," Weissman said. "But Kati (Karikó) lit the match and we spent the rest of our 20 plus years working together figuring out how to get it to work."
Karikó, 68, had to overcome big challenges. For years, she went from one low-paying research job to another and even slept in her office at times. She says she was forced to retire from Penn and then commuted to work at BioNTech. But said she never gave up. And her mother never gave up hope she'd eventually win a Nobel.
"My mom, who passed away two years ago at age 89, every fall she was listening and she said to me, 'You know, you might get this year.' And I said, 'Mom, I couldn't even get a grant,' " Karikó said in a 2020 interview with NPR.
The first prize in the category was awarded in 1901. Of the 227 people whose work has been recognized with the prize, Karikó is only the 13th woman among them.
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Transcript
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Two scientists whose basic research played a crucial role in the development of the COVID-19 vaccines, this morning, were named the winners of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. NPR health correspondent Rob Stein joins us now. So, Rob, tell us who these award-winning scientists are.
ROB STEIN, BYLINE: Their names are Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman. Kariko is a biochemist who was born in Hungary. Weissman is an American immunologist. They met and collaborated at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and produced what ended up being groundbreaking research that eventually led to the development of the two most important COVID-19 vaccines. Here's Thomas Perlmann from the Nobel Assembly announcing the prize this morning at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
THOMAS PERLMANN: The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has today decided to award the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly to Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman for their discoveries concerning nucleoside-based modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.
MARTÍNEZ: That research that he was talking about there - tell us more about that research.
STEIN: Sure. mRNA is a type of genetic information. And working together, the pair figured out how to modify mRNA so it could be used to stimulate the immune system to fight off invaders like, you know, viruses. And despite skepticism from other scientists, Kariko and Weissman hung in there and published what turned out to be a seminal research paper in 2005 explaining how to do this. And when the pandemic erupted, the drug companies Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna used mRNA technology to develop the COVID vaccines in record time. Here's Rickard Sandberg, a Nobel committee member, at today's announcement.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
RICKARD SANDBERG: mRNA vaccines, together with other COVID-19 vaccines, have been administered over 13 billion times. Together, they have saved millions of lives, prevented severe COVID-19, reduced the overall disease burden and enabled societies to open up again.
STEIN: And spurred interest in using mRNA technology to fight off many other diseases from the flu to possibly even cancer.
MARTÍNEZ: The thing is, though, COVID vaccines have also turned out to be controversial. Did the Nobel Committee address that?
STEIN: Yes, the Nobel Committee members said there is overwhelming evidence the mRNA vaccines are very safe and highly effective, even possibly reducing the risk for long COVID, and hope the award might help overcome some of the skepticism and hesitancy that has plagued efforts to get more people, you know, to get vaccinated against COVID and save even more lives.
MARTÍNEZ: Those two scientists - what's their reaction?
STEIN: You know, according to the Nobel Committee, they're both thrilled. Kariko in particular had overcome big challenges in her career. Here's Thomas Perlmann again.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PERLMANN: Katalin Kariko explained that she was so overwhelmed and also put it in context with her situation as a scientist for many years. Ten years ago, she told me that she was terminated from her current position and had to move to Germany for another position without her family and so forth. So it's been a dramatic change in her circumstances.
STEIN: You know, Kariko is only the 13th woman out of 227 people to win a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
MARTÍNEZ: NPR's Rob Stein. Thanks, Rob.
STEIN: You bet, A. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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