14 August 2026
mRNA technology gained worldwide recognition through the development of COVID-19 vaccines. Researchers at the Biomedical Research Institute (BIOMED) of Hasselt University (UHasselt) and the Belgian biotech company etherna have now shown that the same technology also holds promise for a very different application: the targeted treatment of autoimmune diseases. Their findings have been published in the leading scientific journal Advanced Science.
In autoimmune diseases, the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissues in the body. Many existing treatments work by suppressing this immune response, but they do not always do so in a targeted way. This new mRNA approach aims to modulate the immune system more specifically. And with promising results: in preclinical models of multiple sclerosis (MS) and type 1 diabetes, the researchers were able to significantly reduce disease severity.
A simple injection just as effective
This study demonstrates that mRNA can be used not only to activate the immune system, as is the case with vaccines against infectious diseases, but also to specifically dampen an dysregulated immune response. One of the most striking findings was that a simple intramuscular injection proved to be just as effective as intravenous administration via infusion. This is important because an intramuscular injection is much easier to administer and could significantly increase the practical applicability of future mRNA therapies.
Although further research is needed to establish the safety and efficacy of this approach in humans, these results represent an important step towards the development of new, targeted treatments for autoimmune diseases.
Strong collaboration
The research is the result of a close collaboration between etherna and the Biomedical Research Institute (BIOMED) at Hasselt University (UHasselt), bringing together complementary areas of expertise. etherna contributed its expertise in mRNA and lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology, while the research team led by Prof. Bieke Broux and Dr Paulien Baeten at BIOMED contributed their expertise in immunology and in the mechanisms underlying autoimmune diseases.
“For more than a decade, etherna has been developing its mRNA-LNP platform based on one simple belief: this technology is much more versatile than vaccines alone. These results demonstrate that. They show that our platform can not only be used to activate the immune system, but also to calm it down and restore immune tolerance in models of multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes. The fact that a simple intramuscular injection proved to be as effective as intravenous administration is an important step towards practical and patient-friendly therapies.
“This result was only possible through collaboration. Combining our platform technology with the leading immunological expertise at BIOMED, together with contributions from VIB-UGent and UMass Chan Medical School and support from VLAIO, is exactly the kind of collaboration that can turn scientific ambition into therapeutic progress,” says Bernard Sagaert, CEO of etherna.
A strong driving force
“For my team and me, developing effective treatments for people living with autoimmune diseases is the greatest driving force behind everything we do. What we have achieved together with etherna is, honestly, remarkable. While further validation in patients remains essential, these results show great potential, not only for multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes, but potentially also for a broader range of autoimmune diseases,” says Prof. Bieke Broux of BIOMED, UHasselt.
“Results like these remind us why our research is so important. This project also demonstrates what can be achieved when scientific expertise and biotechnology come together,” says Dr Paulien Baeten of BIOMED, UHasselt.
Read the full scientific paper in Advanced Science: Read the full paper
