In 2015, three employees of Novartis Vaccines published a paper in Expert Opinion on Drug Discovery entitled: Vaccines on Demand: Science Fiction or a Future Reality. This talk will describe the events and data leading up to this publication, starting with the initiation of the self-amplifying mRNA (SAM) vaccines platform in 2008 at the Novartis Vaccines US R&D facility in Cambridge Massachusetts. It will conclude with an overview of what has happen since 2015 and the prospects for vaccines on demand.

1. Ulmer JB, Mansoura MK, Geall AJ. Vaccines ‘on demand’: science fiction or a future reality. Expert Opin Drug Discov. 2015 Feb;10(2):101-6. doi: 10.1517/17460441.2015.996128. Epub 2015 Jan 13. PMID: 25582273.