BRIEF—Recipharm unit chosen to support mRNA research

A division of Swedish contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Recipharm has signed a deal with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to develop a continuous manufacturing technology for mRNA therapeutics.

Arranta Bio, based close to the biotech hub of Cambridge, Massachusetts, will participate in the publicly-funded initiative to boost production capacity for mRNA vaccines, in preparedness for future potential pandemics.

The three-year project will accelerate the deployment of mRNA vaccines as well as mRNA therapeutics, including against rare diseases, infectious viruses and cancers.

MIT center director Richard Braatz said: “This project leverages advances made at MIT in the continuous pharmaceutical manufacturing made over the last ten plus years, as well as more recent advances in the modular manufacturing of vaccines and other biotherapeutics.”