mRNA is still made the 1984 way. It was not built for the drugs coming next.

mRNA stayed a vaccine technology because a vaccine is a fifth of a milligram, given twice.

A chronic protein-replacement therapy needs 0.4 to 1.6 grams a year, and a gram made to clinical standard costs between about $300,000 and $450,000. A bigger factory barely moves that, because RNA manufacturing runs on variable costs rather than fixed ones.

Pharma has committed as much as $6 billion to RNA medicines that have to be dosed repeatedly, and none of the three announcements mentioned the price of a gram.