Sentences with phrase «zika mrna»

Publication in Cell Demonstrates Moderna's Zika mRNA Vaccine Prevents In Utero Transmission of Zika Virus in Mice, Protects Against Zika - Related Congenital Damage

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 13, 2017 — Moderna Therapeutics, a clinical stage biotechnology company that is pioneering messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines to create a new generation of transformative medicines for patients, today announced new data demonstrating that its Zika mRNA vaccine prevented Zika virus transmission from pregnant mice to their fetuses.

The findings, which were published today in Cell, also demonstrated that Moderna's Zika mRNA vaccine protected the placenta and fetus from Zika virus - induced injury.

We look forward to further study of our Zika mRNA vaccine to prevent Zika infections, with the ultimate goal of improving outcomes for mothers, their children, and families in the U.S. and globally.»

First Zika mRNA vaccine preclinical data published in Cell: In February, the first pre-clinical data for Moderna's Zika mRNA vaccine were published in Cell.

In 2016, Moderna received a funding award of up to $ 125 million from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a division of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to accelerate development of its Zika mRNA vaccine.

Researchers gave a cohort of non-pregnant female mice (n = 20) a 10 µg intramuscular (IM) injection of the Zika mRNA vaccine followed by a boost at 28 days.

The findings also demonstrated that Moderna's Zika mRNA vaccine protected the placenta and fetus from Zika virus - induced injury.

10 of 19 (53 %) placentas and 11 of 19 (58 %) fetal heads from mice who received Moderna's Zika mRNA vaccine had viral RNA levels at the limit of detection of the assay, suggesting virtually complete protection, and the remainder had substantially lower levels than those detected in samples from mice in the placebo cohort.

Placenta and fetal heads from the placebo cohort showed high levels of viral RNA levels while corresponding tissues in mice immunized with Moderna's Zika mRNA vaccine showed marked virological protection (placenta, 200-fold mean reduction; fetal head, 13,000-fold mean reduction).

Moderna's Zika mRNA vaccine, mRNA - 1325, is currently in Phase 1/2 clinical study in healthy volunteers.

Not exact matches

The company has begun human testing of its mRNA drugs for cardiovascular disease and cancer, and for vaccines against the flu, Zika, and chikungunya viruses.

The researchers found that in mice, a single injection of 30 millionths of a gram of these mRNAs — a small fraction of the dose used for a typical vaccine — induced a rapid immune response, which protected mice from intravenous exposure to a separate Zika strain two weeks later.

The new candidate vaccine contains mRNAs encoding two key proteins from a Zika virus strain isolated in a 2013 outbreak.

«New Zika vaccine candidate protects mice and monkeys with a single dose: Results from study highlight the promise of mRNA - based vaccines and therapies.»

At day 49, the mice that received the mRNA vaccine produced high levels of neutralizing antibodies against Zika virus in their blood compared to placebo.

Our investigational Zika vaccine, mRNA - 1325, is being developed to deliver mRNA encoding for viral antigenic proteins associated with the Zika virus.

«We're highly encouraged by these preclinical findings demonstrating the ability of our mRNA vaccine to provide robust prevention of maternal transmission of Zika and protection against congenital defects,» said Giuseppe Ciaramella, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Moderna's infectious disease - focused venture, Valera, and an author on the paper.