The announcement that the Nobel Prize for Medicine for 2023 has been awarded to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman is received with great excitement. The scientists discovered a way to modify RNA such that rather than the body breaking down RNA, the modified RNA can be targeted to specifically evoke protective immune responses. The RNA approach was the basis for the rapid development of the Pfizer/Moderna Covid vaccines and holds promise as a generalised technology to protect against many infections. This and other vaccine technology platforms such as glycoengineering being developed at the LSHTM, point the way to lower cost, more effective vaccines, and vaccine equity worldwide.
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