Tuberculosis is the infectious disease that causes the most deaths per year worldwide (1.3 million in 2022) and the only vaccine currently available has very low efficacy against the most infectious form of the disease, the pulmonary tuberculosis. The project “RNA inhaled vaccines against Tuberculosis” arose from the need to address this global public health challenge. This pioneering project led by Certest in collaboration with the University of Zaragoza (UNIZAR) and the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), aims to develop a new inhaled RNA vaccine against tuberculosis as a booster for current and future vaccines against the disease.

The expected outcome of this project will be the first inhaled mRNA vaccine which will solve the problem associated with transport and conservation at room temperature. Additionally, this will allow the pulmonary delivery and boost the immune action in the target organ of the infection.

The success of this collaborative R&D project could have a major impact on the health and welfare of society at a global level, saving millions of lives thanks to the universalization of a stable, cost-effective vaccine against the world’s deadliest infectious disease.