From: https://rwmalonemdllc.com/mrna-vaccine-inventor as of January 2022.
The True Story of How mRNA Vaccination was Invented
IT ALL STARTED WHEN…
Dr. Malone is
the inventor of mRNA vaccines (and DNA vaccines). He also discovered lipid
mediated and naked RNA transfection technologies.
It all started when he was at the Salk Institute in 1987 and 1988. There, he
pioneered in-vitro RNA transfection and also in-vivo RNA transfection (in frog
embryos, as well as mice).
This resulted in his seminal paper: Cationic liposome-mediated RNA transfection RW Malone, PL
Felgner, IM Verma. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) 86 (16),
6077-6081
His filed patent and disclosures from the Salk included in-vivo RNA transfection and also methods for mRNA stabilization - now being claimed as invented by others. These are available for review.
His research
was continued at Vical in 1989, where the first in-vivo mammalian rat
experiments were designed by him. The mRNA, constructs, reagents were developed
at the Salk institute and at Vical by Dr. Malone, this included dosing amounts
for the in-vivo experiments. RNA and DNA were sent to Dr. Jon Wolff via Fedex.
Dr.Wolff at the University of Wisconsin injected mice and rats. The initial
patent disclosures for RNA and DNA vaccination were written by Dr. Malone in
1988-1989. Dr. Malone was also an inventor of DNA vaccines in 1988 and 1989.
This body of work resulted in over 10 patents and numerous publications,
yielding about 7000 citations for this work. The paper was the first showing
data for DNA and RNA side by side for in-vivo (the first paper for in-vivo
DNA):
Direct gene transfer into mouse muscle in vivo. Wolff JA, Malone RW, et al. Science. 1990;247(4949 Pt 1):1465-8. Cited in 4,750 articles, is the result of that work.
In
1989, research was performed that gave rise to the 10+ groundbreaking patents
on mRNA vaccination, all with a priority date of March 3, 1989. This is the
same priority date as the Salk Patent application, showing that the two
institutions were working together (without Robert’s knowledge). These patents
are the first published research on mRNA vaccination. The titles and links to
the patents are listed in the documents below. These patents have proof of
principle experiments on mRNA vaccines - that clearly document that the
invention worked and that these are the first experiments showing this.
Vical
was to license the Salk Technology. Instead, they hired Robert’s thesis advisor
from the Salk and soon after, the Salk dropped the patent and Vical never
pursued a license from the Salk. Due to an employee contract with Vical, this
stopped Robert from working in the field commercially for a decade. Vical
claimed all the Salk research happened at Vical and sent a cease and desist
letter.
Dr. Malone carried on his research into mRNA vaccination during the 1990s,
culminating in a mucosal patent that was issued in 2000. He also helped
revolutionized the field of cationic liposomes for the use in RNA vaccinations.
This work was so far ahead of its time, that only now is the world turning to
mucosal mRNA vaccination as a method of immunization. For a listing of some of
his work, see the publications at the end of this page.
Scientifically trained at UC Davis, UC San Diego, and at the Salk Institute
Molecular Biology and Virology laboratories, Dr. Malone received his medical
training at Northwestern University (MD) and Harvard University Medical School
(Clinical Research Post Graduate) , and in Pathology at UC Davis, He has almost 100 peer-reviewed publications, and has
been an invited speaker at about 50 conferences.
For the full backstory on the discovery of mRNA vaccination, as written by Dr. Malone’s partner and wife, please download the PDF below:
A SCIENTIFIC EDUCATION: THE EARLY DISCOVERIES OF RNA VACCINATION
Image from Heidi News
From an article on Dr. Malone’s discoveries,
Intellectual Rape at the Salk Institute
“Robert Malone was 29 when he made a major discovery: It is possible to bring messenger RNA protected by a fat ball into cultured cells to produce proteins. The very principle of RNA vaccines. He was then at the Salk Institute, the temple of genetic research. Amazing results, which will be repeated on frog embryos. But skepticism around RNA and a never-filed patent will crush his hopes and waste years. Robert Malone today has the bitterness of those who were right too early…”
mRNA Vaccine and RNA Transfection/Delivery Papers and Patents directly derived from Robert W Malone’s research
The Vical patent that was filed with the USPTO on 3/21/1989. Note that the cover letter hides this - and says it was filed on 3/29/89.
THE VERY FIRST mRNA VACCINE EXPERIMENTAL DATA 1990 (from Vical to patent office)
DNA and RNA Transfection and Vaccination (Abstract). First Place, Northwestern AOA Research Symposium Competition for Medical Students: 1989.
Cationic liposome-mediated RNA transfection. Malone RW, Felgner PL, Verma IM. Proc Natl Acad Sci (PNAS) U S A. 1989;86(16):6077-81. Cited in 749 articles.
Direct gene transfer into mouse muscle in vivo. Wolff JA, Malone RW, et al. Science. 1990;247(4949 Pt 1):1465-8. Cited in 4,750 articles. Note that Robert was a student at Northwestern, and was never affiliated with University of Wisc.
High levels of messenger RNA expression following cationic liposome mediated transfection tissue culture cells. Malone R, Kumar R, Felgner P. NIH Conference: “Self-Cleaving RNA as an Anti-HIV Agent (abstract). Washington, DC June 1989.
Cationic liposome-mediated RNA transfection. Dwarki VJ, Malone RW, Verma IM. Methods Enzymol. 1993;217:644-54. Cited in: 102 articles.
Delivery of exogenous DNA (includes mRNA) sequences in a mammal P Felgner, JA Wolff, GH Rhodes, R Malone, D Carson. Biotechnology Advances 1993: 15 (3-4), 763-763
Lipid-mediated polynucleotide administration to deliver a biologically active peptide and to induce a cellular immune response (includes mRNA). P Felgner, JA Wolff, GH Rhodes, R Malone, D Carson. Assigned to Vical, Inc and licensed to Merck. No. 7,250,404, date of issue: 7/31/07 Cited in 105 articles. Priority Date: 3/21/1989.
Lipid-mediated polynucleotide administration to reduce likelihood of subject's becoming infected (includes mRNA). P Felgner, JA Wolff, GH Rhodes, Robert W Malone, D Carson. Assigned to Vical, Inc and licensed to Merck. US Pat. Ser. No. 6,867,195 B1. Date of issue: 3/15/05. Priority Date: 3/21/1989.
mRNA vaccination experiment found in mRNA vaccine patents, with a priority date of 1989. This example comes from patent #6,867,195.
Generation of an immune response to a pathogen (includes mRNA). P Felgner, JA Wolff, GH Rhodes, Robert W Malone, D Carson. Assigned to Vical, Inc and licensed to Merck. US Pat. Ser. No. 6,710,035. Date of issue: 3/23/04. Citations: 39 articles. Priority Date: 3/21/1989.
Cationic Transport Reagents. US Pat. Ser. No. 5,892,071 Robert W Malone, et. al. issued 4/06/99.
Cationic Transport Reagents. Robert W Malone, et. al. US Pat. Ser. No. 5,744,625 issued 4/28/98.