次のパンデミックにむけて：近未来のワクチンデザイン

Future Vaccine Design for the Next Pandemic

はじめに

　2020年はコロナ禍で起きたワクチン開発研究において，今までになかった新しいタイプのワクチンが約300日で実用化され，ワクチン開発研究の革命が2つ起きた年として歴史に刻まれるであろう。一つ目はmRNAという新たなワクチンの登場，二つ目はワクチンの臨床試験方法の革命である。日本では，国産ワクチン開発が遅れ，“ワクチン敗戦” と揶揄されたが，ようやく2023年になり国産ワクチンが実用化された。その間に著者の見聞きした事象，そしてこれから近未来に起こるワクチンに関する話題，特にDNAやRNAで作られたワクチンや次世代のワクチンデザイン，高い安全性から安心を目指したサイエンスへの展開について議論したい。

　The year 2020 will go down in history as the year in which two revolutions in vaccine development research occurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, including a new type of vaccine that had never existed before. The first revolution was the emergence of a new type of vaccine using mRNA, and the second was a revolution in vaccine clinical trial methods. In Japan, the development of domestically produced vaccines was delayed and was ridiculed as “vaccine defeat,” but in 2023, domestically produced vaccines were finally put to practical use. I would like to discuss the events I witnessed during that important year, plus topics related to vaccines that will occur in the near future―especially vaccines made with DNA and RNA, next-generation vaccine design, and developments in areas ranging from high safety to the science aiming for further safety.