Circular RNA (circRNA) is not a new concept, but it is a novel strategy in the field of gene and cell therapy. While mRNA vaccines have revolutionized medicine, this RNA fragment without free ends surpasses their performance in both efficacy and durability, bringing it to the attention of several pioneering companies. The latest advances in circRNA presented at the 29th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT) clearly surpass the performance achieved with linear mRNA.
Researchers from the University of Naples Federico II (Italy) and collaborating institutions reportedd the design of a next-generation mRNA vaccine that leverages a phylogenetically informed consensus receptor binding domain heterotrimers representing the major variant lineages.
Effective targeted therapies against aggressive breast cancer subtypes, such as triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), are still lacking. Developing therapeutics targeting nonenzymatic, intracellular proteins with causal roles in TNBC progression remains a significant challenge.