Current status and patent prospective of lipid nanoparticle for mRNA delivery

ABSTRACT

Introduction

Messenger RNA-lipid nanoparticle (mRNA-LNP) delivery is currently a research hotspot in pharmaceutics. LNP has emerged in pharmaceutical industry as popular and effective vehicle for mRNA delivery. It is therefore significant to understand current landscape and recent development of LNP for mRNA delivery.

Areas covered

This article provides patent landscape and recent development for mRNA-LNP delivery by US-granted patent analysis. The US-granted patents from January 2003 to December 2022 were retrieved and analyzed by using PatSnap.

Expert opinion

Globally, the present article was the first one which showed that mRNA-LNP delivery system demonstrated three therapeutic applications including vaccines, anticancer, and diseases associated with protein or enzyme deficiencies. ModernaTX is the most powerful company and leads almost all technologies in mRNA-LNP field. In addition, the technologies related to LNP for mRNA delivery are virtually controlled by top three assignees. mRNA-LNP delivery in therapy of diseases associated with enzyme deficiencies may be a future trend. The article provides recent advances in LNP for mRNA delivery.

KEYWORDS:

• Lipid nanoparticle
• mRNA
• MRNA-LNP
• mRNA delivery
• LNP
• patent

Article highlights

• mRNA-LNP delivery system demonstrated three therapeutic applications including vaccines, anticancer, and diseases associated with protein or enzyme deficiencies.

• LNP for mRNA delivery is basically controlled by top three assignees.

• mRNA-LNP delivery had been explored in therapy of diseases associated with enzyme deficiencies, which may be a future trend for mRNA-LNP delivery development.

• mRNA-LNP delivery demonstrated a unique development model in pharmaceutical industry, in which just a few companies controlled almost all technologies of mRNA-LNP delivery.

• mRNA-LNP vaccines were the largest patent cluster in LNP for mRNA delivery, and ModernaTX was the most powerful company in this field.

• The modifications of 4-thio-modified nucleotides were a key modified method, and Translate Bio was in a leading position in these modifications.

Declaration of interests

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This paper was not funded.