EU consortium explores new mRNA molecules and ways to make them
Led by Sven Panke’s Bioprocess Lab at ETH Zurich, a consortium of partners from industry and academia from across Europe recently kicked off “NEWmRNA”, a synthetic biology project funded by a 3 Mio€-EIC Pathfinder grant. Given the diverse role and growing importance of mRNA-applications in many economic sectors, the 4-year project aims to pave the way for new forms of mRNA and for mass producing them.
Messenger-RNA (mRNA) recently gained much fame in vaccinations against COVID-19. But the single-stranded genetic molecule not only plays an ever-growing role in medical applications such as vaccinations, gene therapy and diagnostics. RNA-based technologies are also used in other life science sectors, for example to control pests in agriculture.
The transformation of mRNA production requires a paradigm shift in current practices – and an innovative interdisciplinary research approach combining multiple expertise. Academic partners of the newly formed consortium include ETH Zurich and the Universities of Zurich (Switzerland), Leuven (Belgium), and Konstanz (Germany); industrial partners are Theraxen SA (Luxembourg) and CEA, the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission.
Currently, the majority of mRNA production is about natural mRNA molecules and chemical or enzymatic synthesis. However, exciting new avenues can be explored with respect to the chemical nature of the mRNA molecule as well to how we will produce it in the future. Exploring the biological functions of novel mRNAs will help improve the effectiveness of mRNA-based medical therapies, broaden chemical catalysis, and reduce the human footprint in agriculture.
“mRNAs will gain even more importance in the future, both in their chemical applications as well as economically. I have high hopes for the discovery of novel mRNAs with new biological functions! I am therefore glad we could attract excellent partners for this project; all collaborators have long-standing expertise in synthetic bio-production and engineering. And, I am excited that we get support from EIC Pathfinder: my hope is that our project will lead to breakthrough technologies”, says Sven Panke, Head of the Bioprocess Laboratory at the Basel-based Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, the leading house of the EU project.
The Pathfinder programme of the European Innovation Council (EIC) supports ambitious science and technology projects that promote collaborative, interdisciplinary research and innovation leading to radically new future technologies. Specifically, the project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Future Emerging Technologies (FET) Open programme) under grant agreement No. 965135.
Find news and further information on the external pageNEWmRNA twitter channel.
Learn about the external pageEIC Pathfinder programme.
Link to the Bioprocess Lab led by Sven Panke.