Dr. Katalin Kariko and Dr. Drew Weissman have been named the winners of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for their innovations concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.
Katalin Kariko’s and Drew Weissman’s invention based on modified mRNA technology is revolutionary in the field of RNA based therapeutics. Their main focus has been on RNA mediated mechanisms and their work has been instrumental in widening the therapeutic potential of mRNA. Kariko’s work has accorded her various accolades including the prestigious Japan Prize, the Paul Ehrlich award, the Gairdner award, the Kovalenko medal, the Breakthrough prize and the Lasker prize.
[The authors are Executive Director and Principal Associate, respectively, in the IPR practice team at Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan Attorneys, New Delhi]
