Cancer vaccines could be available in the next 10 years thanks to Covid jab advances, scientists claim.
Ugur Sahin and Ozlem Tureci, the founders of leading coronavirus vaccine makers BioNTech, said improvements in mRNA technology during the pandemic have helped accelerate research.
The professors admit they are hesitant to say they can find a cure for cancer, but have had significant “breakthroughs”.
Whereas conventional vaccines are produced using weakened forms of a virus, mRNAs use its genetic code to trigger an immune response to prepare the body for the disease.
Asked when cancer vaccines might be accessed by many patients around the world, Prof Sahin said it could happen “before 2030”.
She told the BBC their decades of work in developing cancer vaccines was “the tailwind” for their Covid jab, which is feeding back into their cancer work.
She said: “We have learned how to better, faster manufacture vaccines.
“We have learned in a large number of people how the immune system reacts towards mRNA.”
Prof Tureci added: “As scientists we are always hesitant to say we will have a cure for cancer.
“We have a number of breakthroughs and we will continue to work on them.”
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In August, rival vaccine manufacturer Moderna said it was suing BioNTech and partner Pfizer, for patent infringement over the company’s Covid-19 vaccine.
Asked about the case, Prof Sahin said: “Our innovations are original. We have spent 20 years of research in developing this type of treatment and of course we will fight for our intellectual property.”
