Therapeutic potential of exogenous mRNA encoding recombinant antibodies against viral infection pathogens

Antibodies produced by our immune system in response to vaccination or pathogen invasion are an essential, and sometimes the only, tool to combat viral infections. Scientific and technological advances have brought a new class of antiviral drugs, therapeutic recombinant monoclonal antibodies, to the biopharmaceutical market. However, their potential is severely limited due to the low stability and aggregation of recombinant antibodies, as well as the high costs of production and purification.

Over the past decade, the technology of transient (temporary) protein expression in vivo by delivering exogenous mRNA encoding it to target cells has become the most widespread. Exogenous mRNA encoding recombinant antibodies can provide stable, long-term and safe translation of both full-length antibodies and their various truncated forms. In addition, mRNA technologies allow the implementation of approaches to the development of new forms of protective antibodies, for example, intracellular or anchored in the membranes of specific target cells.

In 2024 alone, over a thousand scientific papers were published on the development and use of mRNA as vaccines and therapeutic drugs. This review examines modern experimental drugs based on mRNA-encoded antibodies that have protective properties against viral pathogens.