AstraZeneca and Moderna take a big, early step forward in their quest to prove mRNA works in humans
Biotech unicorn Moderna has revamped its development structure, pulled back the veil on more of its R&D work and spotlighted a significant clinical step forward for one of its most advanced — though still very early-stage — messenger RNA therapies in the pipeline.
Tackling the very ambitious work of regenerating cardio tissue — long one of the Holy Grails in stem cell therapy — Moderna’s close partners at AstraZeneca say they got the safety and efficacy data they were looking for on AZD-8601 in Phase I. Working with a biomarker at this stage, investigators tracked expression of VEGF-A protein in the skin — giving them some early confidence that a technology initially developed at Harvard had some real proof-of-mechanism evidence to back it up with. That in turn has inspired AstraZeneca to take the next step on the messenger RNA front as it journeys into Phase II, where they will look for more solid evidence of its regenerative powers among patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting.
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