a16z Podcast

Uncontrolled Spread: Science, Policy, Institutions, Infrastructure

Sep 20, 2021
Scott Gottlieb, former head of the FDA and author of 'Uncontrolled Spread,' dives into the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. He discusses the critical role technology, particularly mRNA vaccine development, played in pandemic response and highlights failures in regulatory translation of science to policy. Joining him are Marc Andreessen, a prominent venture capitalist, and Vineeta Agarwala, a bio expert. They explore the need for improved genomic surveillance, private sector involvement in health infrastructure, and the ethical dilemmas of challenge trials for future preparedness.
Ask episode
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
INSIGHT

mRNA Vaccine Adaptability

  • The manufacturing process for mRNA vaccines offers plug-and-play capabilities, making it theoretically easier to adapt than influenza vaccines.
  • This is because mRNA vaccines don't require egg adaptation, which can introduce changes in the protein and affect clinical outcomes.
INSIGHT

Variant-Specific Vaccines

  • There's a tradeoff between optimizing mRNA vaccines for new variants and maintaining efficacy against existing strains.
  • Using the current vaccine offers known efficacy against a range of strains, while switching to a variant-specific vaccine introduces uncertainty.
ADVICE

Future Vaccine Approval Process

  • Future licensure of variant-specific mRNA vaccines won't require large outcome studies like the initial COVID vaccines.
  • Instead, smaller non-inferiority trials supplemented with immunogenicity data and in vitro neutralization data will likely suffice.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Get the app