mRNA is set to be the new frontier in vaccines, but has serious side effects including inflammation
\nASX listed Noxopharm has a program to tackle this problem
\nStockhead reached out to Stockhead\u2019s CEO, Gisela Mautner<\/p>\n
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Scientists have been studying Messenger RNA or mRNA<\/strong> for decades starting in the 1960s, but it took until the global Covid-19 pandemic of 2020 for the first mRNA vaccine to be brought to market.<\/p>\n In three short years however, mRNA vaccines have saved millions of lives, achieved household recognition, and produced two Nobel Laureates \u2013 Katalin Karik\u00f3 and Drew Weissman.<\/a><\/p>\n But the future of mRNA vaccines is not limited to just Covid. Biotechs are already developing mRNA vaccines to protect against other viruses such as the flu, and even HIV.<\/p>\n Despite this huge potential, one of the biggest drawbacks of taking mRNA vaccines is that fragments of mRNA bind to inflammation receptors in the body causing overstimulation, which results in inflammation<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Although inflammation is a natural part of the immune response when the body detects foreign substances, there is growing awareness of the importance of reducing inflammation in mRNA vaccines.<\/p>\n Noxopharm (ASX:NOX)<\/a><\/strong> is the only listed company on the ASX which is tackling this side effect problem head-on.<\/p>\n Recent animal study has shown that Noxopharm\u2019s SOF-VAC<\/strong> mRNA vaccine enhancer significantly reduces mRNA-driven inflammation by as high as 50%.<\/p>\n \u201cThis enhancer works on specific cell receptors in the body to block inflammation at its source,\u201d CEO of Noxopharm, Dr Gisela Mautner,<\/strong> told Stockhead.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cAnd we work with the Hudson Institute of Medical Research<\/em> in Melbourne, which is the main scientific driver behind behind this technology.\u201d<\/p>\n Mauter explained that mRNA vaccines work by giving the body a set of instructions to build proteins which then activate the immune cells to fight the virus.<\/p>\n \u201cBut unfortunately, what also happens is that these mRNA particles activate the inflammatory receptors in the body, and that\u2019s the unwanted side effect,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n As a result, the challenge for mRNA vaccines, like the ones we had for Covid, is that you can\u2019t put a lot of dose into the syringe because you could develop all these unpleasant side effects.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that\u2019s actually the basis of the Nobel Prize in medicine that was just awarded. The two scientists showed how can you give mRNA without creating these inflammatory side effects.<\/p>\n \u201cThat technology, no surprises, has been licensed to Moderna and Pfizer\/BioNTech, and is therefore off the market.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, we at Noxpharm developed the same thing but with different approach to tackle the same problem. SOF-VAC basically aims to block the inflammatory receptors right at the source,\u201d Mauter said.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Tackling inflammation is important because vaccines are basically given to populations that are essentially healthy, and who do not want to be negatively affected by a preventative vaccine administration.<\/p>\n The ability of SOF-VAC to reduce these inflammatory side effects has several potential benefits, such as enabling mRNA vaccines to be given with higher doses \u2013 creating longer-lasting protection and a decrease in the frequency of booster shots required.<\/p>\n \u201cIt also opens up a whole new world of possibilities, such as being able to put several vaccines into one syringe to treat different diseases,\u201d Mauter said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut most excitingly, as a result of this, the future of mRNA won\u2019t be limited to just vaccines, but instead there will be a whole arena of drugs of medical treatments that could be opened up.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Dr. Gisela Mautner, CEO of Noxopharm<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n With drugs (which unlike vaccines are not given just once), the need for an enhancer is more critical because drugs need to be given in even more higher doses as they\u2019re given to treat an exisiting disease, and not to prevent one.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is where the inflammatory side effects become of real significance. And this is why we are so excited about our technology, and the potential it holds,\u201d Mauter said.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd the beauty of our technology is that it can be basically used with any RNA. We keep hearing about mRNA, but mRNA is only one type of RNA.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are all kinds of RNA that our enhancer can be used with.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n In addition to the SOF-VAC technology which comes under its Sofra program<\/strong>, Noxopharm is also developing the Chroma program<\/strong> which includes a collection of drug candidates with new properties to fight cancer.<\/p>\n Under the Chroma program sits the flagship CRO-67<\/strong> drug, which takes an inventive approach to treat pancreatic cancer.<\/p>\n Pancreatic cancers are particularly difficult to treat because of the the hard shell-like outer layer that usually surrounds the tumour, called fibroblast.<\/p>\n Fibroblast not only nurtures the tumour, it also protects external drugs from entering and attacking the tumour.<\/p>\n Because of that, pancreatic cancer has the worst survival rate of all the major cancers, with a five-year relative survival rate of only 44%. And if the cancer has spread to surrounding tissues or organs, the five-year relative survival rate goes down to 15%.<\/p>\n \u201cSo what\u2019s unique about our CRO-67 is that it has what we call dual cell activity,\u201d explained Mauter.<\/p>\n \u201cIt kills the cancer cells of course, that\u2019s number one, but it also breaks these barrier cells by softening them up and depriving the tumour of its nurturing.\u201d<\/p>\n In early October, CRO-67 was granted Orphan Drug Designation (ODD)<\/strong> status by the US FDA<\/strong>. Only two other Australian companies have received an ODD from the FDA, from a total of 260 issued.<\/p>\n In addition to financial benefits, the ODD will also strengthen Noxopharm\u2019s commercial position in a market that has seen very few new treatments over recent decades.<\/p>\n \u201cThe really sad thing about pancreatic cancer is that there hasn\u2019t been any new development for the last 30-40 years,\u201d said Mauter.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of companies have tried, and nothing\u2019s really worked. So the options out there are very, very limited.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Noxopharm is one of the best performing early-stage ASX biotechs over the past six months, with its share price surging by almost 70% on the back of news flow.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, biotech is always going to be high risk, but we have very promising assets,\u201d Mauter said.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd obviously the earlier you get in, the higher the reward.\u201d<\/p>\n Mauter added that being associated with a Nobel Prize winning technology shows not only the firm\u2019s capability, but also relevance in today\u2019s cutting edge biotechnology.<\/p>\n \u201cOur technology underscores how important reducing inflammation is in the field of medicine,\u201d said Mauter.<\/p>\n \u201cRNA technology in general is going to be a completely new field in medicine, and it\u2019s going to be huge.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to be a player in this market, and we have a fantastic team that\u2019s dedicated, enthusiastic and so motivated to achieve this goal.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n\n \ufeff<\/span><\/span>\u00a0 The post mRNA is the next big thing in medicine. Here\u2019s why Noxopharm could be the ASX front runner in this field<\/a> appeared first on Stockhead<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u2018A whole arena of mRNA drugs\u2019 will need to use enhancers<\/h2>\n
Pancreatic drug CRO-67<\/strong>\u00a0 gets FDA ODD status<\/h2>\n
\u2018A completely new field in medicine\u2019<\/h2>\n
Noxopharm share price today:<\/h2>\n
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