RVAC Medicines, Inc., a messenger RNA (mRNA) technology company with its global headquarters in Singapore, has announced a collaboration under a Sponsored Research Agreement with the University of Pennsylvania in the US, focused on the discovery and development of mRNA vaccines that can modulate the body's normal immune response as possible treatments for certain autoimmune diseases and allergic conditions.

In an effort to address such needs, Drew Weissman, MD, PhD, the Roberts Family Professor in Vaccine Research in the Perelman School of Medicine at Penn, and his laboratory,  will collaborate with RVAC to develop and optimise mRNA vaccine candidates that induce immune tolerance, thereby reducing the chances of autoimmune responses that may lead to more serious autoimmune diseases or allergic conditions.

The focus of the collaboration will be on developing potential new vaccines for food allergies and certain selected autoimmune indications.  

Dr Sean Fu, Chief Executive Officer of RVAC said, "With this collaboration, we want to develop mRNA vaccine product candidates with the potential to improve lives of patients who suffer from certain autoimmune diseases and allergies."