AI was already well on its way to being widely integrated into our healthcare system. The pandemic has just accelerated the trend.
It has also put genomic sequencing into the spotlight—another transformational technology that has played a pivotal role in the race for a vaccine.
The genome is basically an instruction manual that contains all the information to create and maintain an organism.
The human genome is all of our DNA, which is written in a special code of four nucleotide base “letters” strung together in pairs. Our genomes are over 3 billion base pairs long.
The genome of a virus is different from ours: It’s either made up of DNA or its close relative RNA.
Coronaviruses are made from RNA. The virus responsible for the current pandemic, SARS-CoV-2, has a single short strand that is just 30,000 base pairs long.
These base letters can be read using a technique called sequencing. This data can then be used to track how the virus spreads.
Scientists have been able to sequence viral genomes for decades, but it took a long time.
- Thanks to the incredible advances in technology, the process can now be accomplished in a matter of days or even hours.
Understanding the genetic material and how the virus mutates also enables biotech companies to design medicines and vaccines specifically for SARS-CoV-2.
This has happened at a record-breaking pace.
- Inovio Pharmaceuticals (INO) designed a DNA-based vaccine in less than three hours. It started a clinical trial in April, dosing healthy patients with the experimental vaccine.
- Moderna (MRNA) was even faster to trial with its messenger RNA-based vaccine candidate. The first patient received its vaccine in March, and the company plans to launch a phase 3 trial for the vaccine in July.
Traditional vaccines are produced from the actual virus or viral protein. RNA and DNA vaccines, on the other hand, can be designed on a computer within mere hours. They contain genetic instructions that train your immune system to protect you from the virus.
The FDA has not yet approved any RNA or DNA vaccines, but if that happens, it will be a true game-changer.
And this is just one example of how genomic sequencing will forever change the way we treat diseases.
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