FXIV-2-BB-Kariko-Web

Katalin Karikó

FRONTIERS OF KNOWLEDGE AWARD

Biology and Biomedicine

14th Edition

The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Biology and Biomedicine has gone in this fourteenth edition to Katalin Karikó, Robert Langer and Drew Weissman “for their contributions to messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and delivery technology that enable our own cells to produce proteins for disease protection and treatment,” remarked the committee in its citation.

CITATION (EXCERPT)

The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Biology and Biomedicine category goes, in this fourteenth edition, to Katalin Karikó, Robert S. Langer and Drew Weissman for their contributions to messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and delivery technology that enable our own cells to produce proteins for disease protection and treatment.

Drs. Karikó and Weissman developed mRNA modification methods to prevent the immune system from recognizing and destroying the mRNA. Dr. Langer’s work provided tools and reagents that allow packaging of macromolecule therapeutics including mRNA and delivering it into cells, enabling the cellular translation machinery to synthesize the protein/antigen.

Collectively, this breakthrough discovery has already allowed for the timely and prompt development of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines to effectively provide protection against severe COVID-19. This technology is set to expand to other therapeutic areas such as autoimmunity, cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, enzyme deficiency, and other viral infections.