RNA Supply Chain Articles

1. Biomanufacturing Capacity Crunch: It's The Supply Chain's Fault 10/7/2022

   What's behind the protracted biopharma manufacturing capacity crunch, when will it end, and what are manufacturers doing to keep supply on track? During Biotech Week in Boston ad BioProcess International, CDMOs and sponsors weighed in.

2. Sourcing Plasmid DNA From CDMOs Got More Challenging — Here's Why 11/19/2024

   The demand for plasmid DNA products is intrinsically linked to unique market conditions and funding environments. Here's what's driving them.

3. "Mirror, Mirror…": Reflections On Reducing mRNA Production COGS 4/21/2025

   Here, I outline three overarching words of wisdom I gleaned from Life Edit Therapeutics’ April Sena; Tune Therapeutics’ Tyler Goodwin; and University of Sheffield’s Adi on how the mRNA/RNA industry can better control production costs — particularly as it relates to raw material sourcing and usage.  

4. Can America's Retreat On mRNA Be Europe's Opportunity? 8/28/2025

   With HHS winding down mRNA vaccine development under BARDA, could Europe seize the opportunity to lead in mRNA innovation? Exploring the policy shift's implications.

5. FDA Sets Recommendations For Predicting Dangerous Nitrosamine Impurities 10/25/2023

   The FDA recently published a final guidance that sets a recommended framework for predicting the potential of nitrosamine drug substance-related impurities.

6. Defining The RNA Therapeutics Industry In 2023 1/16/2023

   Four executives outline which industry challenges, strategic considerations, and opportunities should be top of mind as RNA therapeutics companies establish their to-do lists for 2023.

7. The Price Is… Almost Right: mRNA Edition! COGS Reduction Strategies 8/28/2025

   The following article will outline the current state of COGS in the mRNA industry and the work he and his colleagues undertook to more effectively utilize raw materials. But heaven forbid this be your normal conference panel write-up. No, below I share Parrella’s insights, but in the form of a never-before released episode of The Price is Right…or perhaps more fittingly given the state of the industry today, this spectacle is more aptly titled: The Price is…Sort Of, Almost, Not Quite Right! 

8. 4 Risk Mitigation Strategies For mRNA Production 4/17/2023

   Planning and procuring custom materials needed to manufacture mRNA remains a top concern. This article shares risk mitigation strategies for multi-sourcing, S&OP process, packaging size, and material expiry.

9. Cultivating A Thriving mRNA Ecosystem: Key Initiatives & Future Directions 2/13/2025

   Overall, I felt that the following initiatives/talking points were demonstrative of the types of creativity and symbiosis that we will need much more of in the near and long-term to foster a healthy and fruitful RNA ecosystem. 

10. What Violin Making Can Teach Us About mRNA Therapeutic Quality 8/8/2022

    Managing the mRNA supply chain and working in mRNA process development may not look anything like the work a luthier does to hew an instrument from an ancient spruce tree. But violin craftmanship actually serves as a fantastic metaphor for the challenging work the mRNA therapeutics space is tackling in sourcing and qualifying raw materials and optimizing the critical IVT reaction.