Decades of substantial U.S. Government investment in mRNA technology paved way for COVID-19 vaccines

By Bhavana KunkalikarMar 6 2023Reviewed by Benedette Cuffari, M.Sc. In a recent study published in The BMJ, researchers explore the United States public funding for the development of coronavirus disease 2019 messenger ribonucleic acid vaccines.

Once the pandemic started in 2020, the United States made enormous financial investments in completing clinical trials and issued advance purchases ensuring millions of vaccine doses before their safety and effectiveness had been wholly proven. The team reviewed scientific data describing the history of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine development and considered four essential inventions. These inventions included lipid nanoparticle development as a drug delivery system, production, and alteration of mRNA, along with small interfering RNA , the definition of the prefusion SARS-CoV-2 "spike" protein structure, and RNA vaccine biotechnology development for human use.

The researchers created search terms by associating each scientist's name with a standard term characterizing the researcher's invention. For example, the search terms included the scientist name and nanoparticle or lipid or lipid nanoparticle; scientist name and siRNA or mRNA; scientist name and spike or perfusion; scientist name and immune* or vaccin*; and scientist name and SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 or coronavirus.

Further funding by the BARDA and Department of Defense raised the total U.S. public investment for pre-pandemic research and development to almost $337 million. This included a total of USD 31.9 billion from 1985 to March 2022, including spending on research, development, and vaccine supply. From the pandemic's beginning in 2020 to March 2022, the U.S. government expended at least $2.3 billion in the research and development of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. In addition, BARDA funded Moderna's clinical trials, whereas the NIH funded other clinical trials, all the while investments were also made in manufacturing and fundamental or translational science.

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