US5989911 (filed 5/8/98 , issued 11/23/99) Titled "Site-specific synthesis of pseudouridine in RNA" discloses the conversion of uridine to pseudouridine.
From the abstract of US9238813 (filed 10/17/13, issued 1/19/16, assignee University of Rochester):
"Methods for affecting mRNA expression or translation through the modification of pre-mR…
US5989911 (filed 5/8/98 , issued 11/23/99) Titled "Site-specific synthesis of pseudouridine in RNA" discloses the conversion of uridine to pseudouridine.
From the abstract of US9238813 (filed 10/17/13, issued 1/19/16, assignee University of Rochester):
"Methods for affecting mRNA expression or translation through the modification of pre-mRNA or mRNA transcripts are described. In one embodiment of the methods of the present invention, the branch point adenosine of a pre-mRNA transcript is 2'-0-methylated to block splicing and subsequent expression of the protein encoded by the transcript. In another embodiment, a uridine residue in a nonsense stop codon may be modified to pseudouridine, causing the translation machinery to read through the nonsense stop codon and translate a full length protein."
It would appear that the prior art anticipates a lot of what is currently being done since the independent claims of recent Moderna patents seem to be relatively narrow. From Moderna's US10463751 (filed 2/6/17 , issued 11/5/19):
1. A pharmaceutical composition comprising a plurality of lipid nanoparticles comprising a cationic lipid, a non-cationic lipid, cholesterol, and a PEG lipid, wherein the plurality of lipid nanoparticles has a mean particle size of between 80 nm and 160 nm and encapsulate an mRNA comprising: (a) an open reading frame encoding a cytoskeletal protein and consisting of nucleotides selected from N1-methyl-pseudouridine, cytidine, adenosine, and guanosine; (b) a 5'-untranslated region (UTR); (c) at least one 5' cap structure; (d) a 3'-UTR; and (e) a 3' tailing sequence of linked nucleosides.
US5989911 (filed 5/8/98 , issued 11/23/99) Titled "Site-specific synthesis of pseudouridine in RNA" discloses the conversion of uridine to pseudouridine.
From the abstract of US9238813 (filed 10/17/13, issued 1/19/16, assignee University of Rochester):
"Methods for affecting mRNA expression or translation through the modification of pre-mRNA or mRNA transcripts are described. In one embodiment of the methods of the present invention, the branch point adenosine of a pre-mRNA transcript is 2'-0-methylated to block splicing and subsequent expression of the protein encoded by the transcript. In another embodiment, a uridine residue in a nonsense stop codon may be modified to pseudouridine, causing the translation machinery to read through the nonsense stop codon and translate a full length protein."
It would appear that the prior art anticipates a lot of what is currently being done since the independent claims of recent Moderna patents seem to be relatively narrow. From Moderna's US10463751 (filed 2/6/17 , issued 11/5/19):
1. A pharmaceutical composition comprising a plurality of lipid nanoparticles comprising a cationic lipid, a non-cationic lipid, cholesterol, and a PEG lipid, wherein the plurality of lipid nanoparticles has a mean particle size of between 80 nm and 160 nm and encapsulate an mRNA comprising: (a) an open reading frame encoding a cytoskeletal protein and consisting of nucleotides selected from N1-methyl-pseudouridine, cytidine, adenosine, and guanosine; (b) a 5'-untranslated region (UTR); (c) at least one 5' cap structure; (d) a 3'-UTR; and (e) a 3' tailing sequence of linked nucleosides.