mRNA Technology Newsletter
Issue #12November 24, 20257 studies

Pfizer's flu mRNA vaccine beats traditional shots by 35%—while new cancer vaccines achieve 93% tumor shrinkage in mice

mRNA technology is expanding far beyond COVID vaccines. This week brought major breakthroughs in flu prevention and cancer treatment, plus engineering advances that could make mRNA therapies safer and more targeted.

🦠 Pfizer's mRNA flu vaccine outperforms traditional shots in 18,000-person trial

  • 18,476 people got either Pfizer's new mRNA flu vaccine or a standard inactivated vaccine during the 2022-2023 flu season

  • The mRNA vaccine reduced flu cases by 34.5% compared to the traditional vaccine (57 cases vs 87 cases)

  • Both vaccines worked against A/H3N2 and A/H1N1 strains, but the mRNA version caused more side effects—fever in 5.6% vs 1.7% of people

Why it matters: This is the first large-scale proof that mRNA vaccines can beat existing flu shots, potentially offering better protection during flu seasons when traditional vaccines fall short.

🏆 Top 0.1% journal 🔗 The New England journal of medicine Clinical Trial, Phase III 🗓️ Nov 19

Key Findings

🎯 New cancer vaccine system achieves 93% tumor shrinkage in mice

  • Researchers combined p53 tumor suppressor mRNA with the drug ciclopirox in lipid nanoparticles for oral cancer treatment

  • The combination therapy reduced tumor growth by 93% in mouse models of oral squamous cell carcinoma

  • The treatment worked by both killing cancer cells directly and reprogramming immune-suppressing tumor-associated macrophages into cancer-fighting M1 cells

💡 This dual-action approach could offer a new way to treat oral cancers, which have a 50% five-year survival rate.

🔬 Scientists create tumor-selective mRNA that targets cancer 114-fold better

  • The new SMRTS system delivers mRNA specifically to cancer cells while avoiding healthy tissue

  • In breast cancer models, it achieved 114-fold higher expression in tumors and 380-fold less expression in healthy organs

  • When combined with checkpoint inhibitor therapy, it suppressed tumor growth by up to 93%

💡 This precision targeting could reduce the severe side effects that limit current cancer treatments.

🧪 Chinese COVID vaccine shows promise with simpler dosing

  • 150 Chinese adults received either low-dose, high-dose, or placebo versions of the CS-2034 mRNA COVID vaccine

  • Both doses created strong antibody responses against the original SARS-CoV-2 strain with mostly mild side effects

  • The low-dose version (0.3 mL) was selected for further development due to comparable effectiveness with fewer reactions

💡 Lower doses could make mRNA vaccines more accessible and reduce manufacturing costs globally.
Top 20% journal 🔗 BMC infectious diseases Randomized Controlled Trial 🗓️ Nov 21

🎯 New malaria mRNA vaccine achieves 99% liver protection in mice

  • mRNA vaccines encoding multiple malaria protein regions reduced liver infection by 99% in mouse models

  • The most effective versions combined junctional region and NANP repeat epitopes from the malaria parasite's surface protein

  • Some mice achieved complete sterilizing immunity, showing no parasites in their blood

💡 This multi-target approach could surpass current malaria vaccines, which show only moderate protection in endemic areas.
🥉 Top 5% journal 🔗 NPJ vaccines Journal Article 🗓️ Nov 18

🔧 Engineering breakthrough solves mRNA delivery trade-off

  • Scientists designed new lipid nanoparticles that balance stable mRNA packaging with efficient cellular release

  • The optimized particles (OT13-LNP) increased vaccine T cell responses by 1.7-fold compared to commercial versions

  • In gene editing tests, they achieved over 90% reduction in target protein levels versus 58% for standard particles

💡 Better delivery systems could make mRNA therapies more effective while using lower doses.
🥇 Top 1% journal 🔗 Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) Journal Article 🗓️ Nov 17

💊 Pancreatic cancer treatment achieves complete tumor elimination

  • New thioketal-incorporated lipid nanoparticles delivered mRNA specifically to pancreatic tissue with 98.3% targeting accuracy

  • The particles transfected 30.5% of pancreatic ductal cells—the main target in pancreatic cancer

  • When loaded with IL-12 immune-stimulating mRNA, they completely eliminated tumors in mice without toxic side effects

💡 Precise pancreatic targeting could transform treatment for one of the deadliest cancers.
🥇 Top 1% journal 🔗 Journal of the American Chemical Society Journal Article 🗓️ Nov 20

Implications

mRNA technology is rapidly expanding beyond COVID vaccines into cancer treatment, flu prevention, and other diseases. The key advances focus on making treatments more targeted, effective, and safer—solving fundamental delivery challenges that have limited the technology's broader medical applications.

Studies in this issue

Primary sources used for this newsletter.

  1. Effectiveness, Immune Response, and Safety of a Modified mRNA Flu Vaccine
    main storyThe New England journal of medicine2025-11-19PMID 41259756
  2. Using tiny fat-based particles to deliver mRNA and a small drug together for combined chemotherapy and immune therapy in oral cancer
    key findingbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology2025-11-19PMID 41256582
  3. Balancing mRNA Packaging and Release Using Designed Charged Lipids
    key findingAdvanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)2025-11-17PMID 41243603
  4. mRNA vaccines targeting malaria protein pieces protect mice from infection
    key findingNPJ vaccines2025-11-18PMID 41253879
  5. Biodegradable Lipid Nanoparticles with Thioketal Deliver mRNA to Pancreatic Duct Cells for Better Cancer Treatment
    key findingJournal of the American Chemical Society2025-11-20PMID 41263336
  6. Safety, immune response, lasting effects, and dose testing of the CS-2034 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in healthy Chinese adults
    key findingBMC infectious diseases2025-11-21PMID 41267026
  7. A messenger RNA system that targets tumors for precise cancer treatment
    key findingMolecular therapy : the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy2025-11-17PMID 41243282

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