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The COVID-19 pandemic changed the world. Indeed a real race took place worldwide between SARS-CoV-2 on the one hand and researchers on the other – especially those specializing in messenger RNA vaccines. Four years after its emergence, the pandemic is not over, but some decisive battles have been won, thanks to the great success of mRNA vaccines.
The Marathon of the Messenger presents the history of these mRNA vaccines, combining a scientific background with historical and economic perspectives. It appears that an important page in the history of these new vaccines was written in Europe, thanks to the crucial work of German and French scientists; this effort began in 1993 and continues to this day. In the face of a prevailing single-mindedness, these researchers pushed through a new therapeutic concept and defined the biotechnological keys that would open the way to the production of therapeutic messenger RNA in the fight against cancer and viral infections.
Written for a broad audience and accompanied by humorous cartoons, this book will appeal to anyone looking for scientific and historical answers about mRNA vaccines. Readers will discover not only the technical and scientific knowledge of how these vaccines work, but also the economic levers that were necessary to create this technology.
This book has been written in collaboration with Dr. Steve Pascolo, former director of CureVac, and the RNA messenger expert Professor Chantal Pichon. It also features a preface by Dr. Pierre Meulien, former director of the European Union public-private partnership Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI).
Chapter 1. Introduction: The Marathon of the Messenger RNA
Part I. Messenger RNA, an essential role and challenge
Chapter 2. A short history of vaccination
Chapter 3. From DNA to RNA
Chapter 4. Messenger RNA (mRNA): from transcription to protein translation
Chapter 5. The mechanism of viral infection
Chapter 6. The immune response
Part II. From preliminary studies to clinical trials
Chapter 7. Promising studies in the 1990s
Chapter 8. The use of mRNA - the initial technical obstacles
Chapter 9. The birth of CureVac: the era of the pioneers
Chapter 10. Solutions for mRNA optimization
Chapter 11. Modified and unmodified mRNA: for what purpose?
Chapter 12. Experiments and clinical trials conducted: the power of therapeutic mRNA
Chapter 13. Experiments and clinical trials against infectious diseases
Chapter 14. Experiments and clinical trials against cancer
Chapter 15. Experiments and clinical trials carried out in other therapeutic fields
Chapter 16. Modified mRNA versus unmodified mRNA: not just a scientific issue
Part III. The triumph of messenger RNA
Chapter 17. A very progressive diffusion in scientific circles
Chapter 18. The development of future biotechs in the 2010s
Chapter 19. The importance of intellectual property and patents
Chapter 20. 2020: the triumph of anti-COVID mRNA vaccines
Chapter 21. mRNA, a technology of the future
Son of a veterinarian and a pharmacist-biologist, Jérôme Lemonnier is responsible, in the Hauts-de-France region (North of France), for promoting innovation and economic development projects in the health and textile industries. A senior civil servant, he currently works at the crossroads between science and industry.
Jérôme's cousin, son of a mother who is a public health doctor and a father who is a research professor in immunology at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, Nicolas Lemonnier has been immersed in biology since his early childhood. While remaining in the scientific field, he nevertheless chose another path and became an engineer. He has co-founded two start-ups in the fields of consumer web, deeptech and musictech.
Gilles Charrot is a cartoonist who has spent a good deal of his career working for the written press. Today, he takes part in congresses and other seminars, mainly medically-oriented, during which he reacts immediately to the comments of the various speakers. In addition, he is also a French editorial secretary, which means that he is in charge of correcting spelling and syntax, tracking down typos, taking care of typography, and reformulating, if the need arises
