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Elon Musk recently shared some details on Tesla’s mRNA microfactories for the development of CureVac’s COVID vaccine. In February 2019, CureVac issued a press release referring to a bioreactor called The RNA Printer. Musk’s recent tweet provided some details about the bioreactor Tesla developed for CureVac’s mRNA vaccine initiatives.
“Tesla makes the RNA bioreactor that can produce vaccines / treatments. Curevac has version 2 in use. Version 3 is under development. I expect this to become an important product for the world, but probably not financially for Tesla, “Musk said on Twitter in response to a request from Tesla’s owner-investor. @SamTalksTesla.
Musk discussed Tesla’s partnership with CureVac in July 2020 and shared his thoughts on the potential of synthetic RNA and DNA. At the time, Musk referred to disease as a “software problem”. In this perspective, Tesla seems more than capable of developing a technology to produce large-scale mRNA vaccines. Musk visited CureVac’s headquarters in Tübingen, Germany in September to discuss the contribution of subsidiary Tesla Grohmann Automation to the development of CureVac’s COVID mRNA vaccine.
MRNA vaccines are easier to manufacture and scale than traditional ones. Tesla’s RNA bioreactor will come into play during the manufacturing phase of CureVac’s COVID vaccine once approved. Due to the scalability of mRNA vaccines, Tesla’s RNA bioreactor could play a key role in making CureVac’s COVID vaccine easily accessible to the public.
Last week, CureVac reported positive Phase 1 results of its COVID vaccine candidate. “We are very encouraged by the interim data from Phase 1. It represents a key milestone in our COVID-19 vaccine program and strongly supports the progress of our vaccine candidate,” said Dr. Franz-Werner Haas, CureVac CEO.
“Following further data readings and discussions with regulators, we remain fully committed and on track to launch a key Phase 2b / 3 trial before the end of 2020,” he added.
At the time of this writing, there have been no mRNA vaccines licensed for infectious diseases because they are relatively new to the world of medicine. This new type of vaccine allows scientists to create synthetic mRNA, which contains the code for the infectious proteins that create the molecules of a virus.
Vaccines that produce synthetic mRNA cannot form a complete virus, but they can develop enough parts to activate the body’s immune system. The human body has innate immunity, which are the defense systems we are born with, and acquired immunity, which develops over time when we come into contact with pathogens. Traditional vaccines work more with the acquired immune system, while mRNA vaccines have the potential to trigger the body’s innate immune system. Because it is unable to develop complete viruses, patients vaccinated with mRNA cannot even spread the disease.
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