BRIEF—European researchers use mRNA to take on superbugs

A new collaboration between Belgian life sciences institute VIB and Ghent University (UGent) has secured a grant of 8 million euros ($8.8 million) to develop a new vaccine technology against bacterial infections.

Dubbed Baxerna, the new consortium will include a range of European medical institutes and will focus on a search for new antibacterial mRNA vaccines.

The collaboration is designed to develop preventive tools in the fight against antimicrobial resistance, starting with mycobacterium tuberculosis, mycobacterium ulcerans and acinetobacter baumannii.

With UGent's participation, Baxerna will have access to a proprietary mRNA vaccine technology in which a bacterial adjuvant particle is added, creating a broader and stronger immune response.

Immunology experts from the French Pasteur Institute and the Dutch Radboud Medical Center will also be involved in the project, with preclinical work taking place at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden.