U.S. government departments are split over messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines. Health Minister Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic, halted $500 million (7000억원) in support for mRNA vaccine development last month. By contrast, the Ministry of National Defense and the Department of Agriculture are continuing to support mRNA vaccine development.
The international journal Nature reported exclusively on the 24th (local time) that the U.S. Department of Defense's Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO) is supporting U.S. corporations HDT Bio in developing a Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever mRNA vaccine.
Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever is transmitted through infected ticks or animal blood. High fever, headache, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and bleeding occur. Forty percent of those infected die, and there is no commercialized vaccine. Nature analyzed that the Ministry of National Defense is supporting mRNA vaccine development because such diseases can threaten troops deployed overseas.
mRNA copies part of the DNA information and delivers it to the ribosome, a cellular organelle, acting as a messenger. The ribosome synthesizes proteins according to the mRNA information. mRNA vaccines emerged as new technology that could save humanity during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Previously, immunity was induced by injecting an attenuated virus or certain proteins, but mRNA vaccines can be produced quickly with only genetic information.
HDT Bio signed a contract worth tens of millions of dollars with the U.S. federal government and tested mRNA vaccines in mice and monkeys. In July, it began clinical trials in humans, but the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) of the Department of Health ordered a halt. However, the Ministry of National Defense later reached out again, and the company said it was told to continue the research, with support at least through the first clinical trial phase.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is also supporting mRNA vaccine development to block viruses affecting pigs, chickens, and cattle. Amesh Adalja of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security said, "As the Health Department rejects mRNA technology and government policy fractures, preparedness for new infectious diseases is collapsing," adding, "It is at least a relief that the Ministry of National Defense has not abandoned mRNA research."
But it is uncertain whether support from the Ministry of National Defense will continue. The British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca is also developing an mRNA vaccine that prevents avian influenza variants. Avian influenza has recently spread among poultry and dairy cattle in the United States, increasing the possibility of human infection.
According to Nature, AstraZeneca began clinical trials early this month, and the Health Department's BARDA and the Defense Department's JPEO were listed as co-researchers with the clinical trial registry. However, the two agencies did not clarify their positions on whether the research will continue.
Research and development of therapeutics that lost support from the Ministry of National Defense has run into setbacks. Philip Santangelo of Emory University in the United States is developing an inhaled flu treatment using mRNA and CRISPR gene scissors. CRISPR gene scissors are an enzyme complex that cuts and edits genes. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the U.S. Department of Defense provided $20 million (280억원) in early development funding, but support was cut off last year. Santangelo raised funds from nonprofits and nongovernmental organizations.