even the new mRNA vaccines that were developed for Covid. I mean, it's miraculous, right? And we're going to be able to use that same mRNA technology for other things, other diseases, maybe even to attack cancer cells.View on YouTube
By late 2025, the core of Sacks’s prediction has been borne out.
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mRNA platform successfully repurposed for other diseases
After COVID-19, mRNA vaccine technology was indeed used for a different infectious disease. On May 31, 2024, the U.S. FDA approved Moderna’s mRNA RSV vaccine mRESVIA (mRNA‑1345) for adults 60 and older, explicitly described by the company as its second approved mRNA product and as building on “the strength and versatility of our mRNA platform.” (investors.modernatx.com) This shows the COVID‑proven mRNA platform being successfully repurposed for another disease (RSV), matching his claim that “we’re going to be able to use that same mRNA technology for other things, other diseases.” -
Therapeutic cancer applications are now working in trials
While no mRNA cancer therapy has full regulatory approval yet, mRNA-based therapeutics that directly target cancer cells have shown clear clinical success:- Moderna and Merck’s personalized mRNA cancer vaccine mRNA‑4157 (V940), which encodes patient‑specific tumor neoantigens, in combination with Keytruda, met its primary endpoint in the Phase 2b KEYNOTE‑942 melanoma trial, significantly reducing risk of recurrence or death compared with Keytruda alone. (investors.modernatx.com)
- Updated three‑year follow‑up data reported in 2023–2024 showed that the combo reduced the risk of recurrence or death by about 49% and the risk of distant metastasis or death by about 62% versus Keytruda alone, confirming sustained benefit. (merck.com)
- News coverage and oncologists have described these results as “extremely impressive,” highlighting that this personalized mRNA jab for melanoma roughly halves recurrence compared with standard immunotherapy alone. (theguardian.com)
These are precisely therapeutic mRNA applications designed to help the immune system recognize and attack cancer cells, aligning with his “maybe even to attack cancer cells” speculation.
Because (a) the mRNA platform has demonstrably been repurposed beyond COVID-19 to at least one other major disease with an approved product, and (b) mRNA cancer therapeutics that directly target tumors have achieved positive randomized clinical trial results and are in advanced development, the prediction is best characterized as right, even though some cancer applications are still in the regulatory pipeline rather than fully licensed therapies.