Norway must seize the opportunity of the RNA revolution

Europe has set an ambitious goal: to become the global leader in life sciences by 2030. This is not just a vision, it is a coordinated strategy backed by massive investments. At the same time, research to bring about advanced medical innovations is currently facing challenges in the US. So while there is clearly a risk from relying on US developed technologies, this is also a critical opportunity for Europe to rise as a leader in the field. 

One example is its EUR 100 million investment in a program to build pandemic preparedness and vaccine development pipelines in the European Vaccine Hub.

The EU has put significant resources behind its proposed measures. One example is its EUR 100 million investment in a program to build pandemic preparedness and vaccine development pipelines in the European Vaccine Hub (EVH).

In this context, mRNA-technology is a key vaccine technology in EVH’s efforts, as it not only enables exceptional speed but also offers significant advantages over traditional vaccines, including scalability, flexibility, and reduced requirements on resources. RNA-based vaccines and therapies are treatments that use RNA molecules to induce protein expression or modify and regulate gene expression in the body. RNA technologies can help correct genetic disorders, fight infections, or treat cancers by targeting specific genes or proteins. They can also deliver gene-modifying payloads for rare diseases, and even produce immune cell therapies inside the body, bypassing the need for the extensive work of extracting, cultivating, and reprogramming these cells outside the body. These possibilities illustrate the truly transformative potential of RNA-therapeutics and explain why this technology is rapidly becoming a cornerstone of modern medicine. 

The developments in RNA-based vaccines and therapeutics therefore present a historic opportunity to improve Norway’s preparedness and health sovereignty and to take on an international role in this field.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the transformative power of mRNA vaccines, it also exposed vulnerabilities in national preparedness, especially in Norway. During recent decades, Norway has developed internationally leading and competitive competence in vaccine research, cancer therapy, and RNA-technology. The developments in RNA-based vaccines and therapeutics therefore present a historic opportunity to improve Norway’s preparedness and health sovereignty and to take on an international role in this field.

Norway’s scientific foundation is solid. It has a long history of competence building within medical applications of micro- and nanotechnology. Examples include ThermoFisher’s Dynabeads originating from the Ugelstad lab at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), the Univeristy of Oslo (UiO), and SINTEF, an independent, non-profit research foundation aimed at contributing to the development of society through research, and innovative startups with novel platforms for cancer treatment. To take this step in the RNA-Lipid Nanoparticle (LNP) field, we must build infrastructure to scale up, test and manufacture advanced therapies, enabling us to perform clinical testing in Norway.

But this requires risk sharing and national support, such as through national research infrastructure.

Norwegian research environments, spearheaded by SINTEF, with extensive experience in nanomedicine and RNA research are ready to build this capacity. But this requires risk sharing and national support, such as through national research infrastructure. For industry it also requires a Health Catapult that can de-risk innovation and speed up time-to-patient.

With proper investment, Norway could establish a state-of-the-art platform for scaling up the production of RNA therapeutics, enabling pilot production and clinical translation in Europe’s northern region. Such an initiative would strengthen both our national preparedness and Europe’s collective resilience.

Investing in RNA infrastructure is not a health expense. It is an investment in Norway’s groundbreaking research, industrial competitiveness, and resilience.

Sjoerd Hak, Senior Research Scientist, SINTEF, Delphine Costa, CEO, The Life Science Cluster (Photo: Vardal), and Hanne Haslene-Hox, Senior Research Scientist, SINTEF (Photo: Thor Nielsen)