Research programme
Room-temperature mRNA
Research stageMost of the cost and reach limits of mRNA medicine come from one fact: the molecule is fragile and has to be kept cold.
Why it matters
The cold chain sets the limits
Keeping a medicine frozen or refrigerated is expensive at every step. Factories need cold storage, shipments need insulated containers and coolant, and every warehouse and clinic along the way needs freezers or fridges that run reliably, day and night.
That cost lands hardest where it is hardest to pay. Across much of India, summer temperatures are high, and power in many smaller towns and rural clinics is not always reliable. A medicine that has to stay cold is a medicine that struggles to reach those places.
When the cold chain breaks, the product is often lost. A door left open, a power cut or a delayed truck can mean doses that have to be thrown away, with the cost of making them wasted along with them.
Our direction
Long-term research
We’re researching an approach aimed at keeping mRNA stable at room temperature. This is long-term work. Our near-term focus is RNACheck, and we’ll share more as this research matures.