eTheRNA builds on its existing immunotherapy technologies targeting skin and breast cancer. These therapies have messenger RNA (m-RNA) as their central molecular building block, which acts as a genetic messenger in the blood and makes cells produce specific proteins that train the immune system to attack cancer cells, for example. The therapy happens via an injection and reprograms the immune cells in such a way that they fight tumor cells.  

eTheRNA’s candidate RNA vaccine for COVID-19 should work according to a similar process, but as a nasal spray. The idea is to inject the body with the genetic code of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles, so that immune cells are trained to recognize and attack these virus particles in case of exposure to the actual virus.  

As soon as all the required data is available, eTheRNA will turn to the international vaccine coalition CEPI, which supports promising COVID-19 vaccine platforms worldwide, for additional funding. But while pharma giant Johnson & Johnson plans to set up major clinical trials as early as July 2020, eTheRNA hopes to start testing its vaccine on healthy volunteers in the course of 2021.  

“Our vaccine needs more time, because we are starting from scratch,” Tiest explains. “Even though there is a lot of evidence that T-cells play an important role in immunity and our production process is relatively simple and scalable, no such vaccine has ever been made. However, our candidate vaccine works in way that complements rapidly developed vaccines and can provide broader protection. The risk of vaccines based on the activation of antibodies is that they focus on the outside of viral cells, and may not protect against mutated strains.”  

“By contrast, our T-cell vaccine tackles the less-variable reproductive mechanism of the virus to provide deeper protection – hopefully also against variants and successors of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.”