If our natural immune system is 99.8% effective, why take Moderna’s vaccine that is only 95% effective? A vaccine that contains mRNA and is produced by a secretive company that has not brought a single product to market in their ten years of existence and has only been in the vaccine business since 2014.
mRNA is not new. Research has been ongoing since 2000, but it’s risky business. It’s difficult to get RNA into cells without triggering nasty side effects. Novartis, Merck and Roche all abandoned the realm over concerns about toxicity. When mRNA enters the body, it triggers virus-detecting immune sensors, causing cells to shut down protein production, foiling the therapy. If the mRNA molecule actually makes it into the cell, it might not make enough protein to actually be useful. Oh, and immune reactions to mRNA injections in lab animals suggested the technique wasn’t as safe as hoped.
Moderna’s competition, CureVac and BioNTech, have acknowledged the problems with mRNA too. The reason they focus on vaccines, instead of using the novel delivery technology for other remedies such as cancer, when the vaccine industry is already overcrowded with a myriad of players and posers, is that they can hopefully achieve results with just a few doses. More than a dose or two and the toxicity problem rears its ugly head. Many RNA drugs have encapsulated the nucleic acid in nanoparticles made of lipids. But because mRNA is much larger, than RNA, it’s hard to stabilize. These nanoparticles are not easily degraded or flushed and can cause toxic buildup in the liver.
Moderna has published exactly one white paper in it’s 10 year existence, which had nothing to do with it’s vaunted technology. There is no data available, and it’s so secretive that some job candidates have to sign nondisclosure agreements before they can interview. Moderna has not published any of its work in Science, Nature or any other trade publication but enthusiastically heralds its potential on CNBC and CNN as one of the world’s most disruptive companies that will magically cure cancer.
Stephane Bancel, had no experience in the drug or biotech industry when he was tapped to head Moderna by one of biotech’s most successful venture capitalists. He’d spent most of his career in sales and operations, not science. Interviews with many current and former employees show that Bancel has hampered progress because of his ego, need for control and his impatience. Moderna has a valuation of over 5 billion dollars without ever having put a product on the market. Former employees felt that Bancel prized the company’s valuation, over its science.
“It’s a case of the emperor’s new clothes,” said a former Moderna scientist. “They’re running an investment firm, and then hopefully it also develops a drug that’s successful.”
When I look at Mr. Bancal’s bio and background, he seems much better suited to be a Banker, Car salesman, Psychopath or perhaps Mayor of New York, not a scientist or the savior of humanity. Now, following Pfizer, Moderna has filed an emergency use application with the FDA for a coronavirus vaccine. An FDA panel is expected to review the applications by mid-December, and Moderna says vaccine distribution may begin before the end of 2020. If it receives approval, it will be the first product that Moderna has ever brought to market.
So, we have a company that has never proven up their vaunted world saving technology – not even once, fast tracking a vaccine through the FDA, without any time to do a proper study on short term effects or long term effects. Hell, there is not even a scientific paper showing how they got it to work while three of the most successful biotechs in the industry, Novartis, Merck and Roche all backed away over fears of toxicity. Don’t worry though. This will only hurt a little bit.