Can Europe Win the mRNA Cancer Race?

A €6.9 million EU grant backs eTheRNA’s cancer vaccines and signals Europe’s long-term bet on mRNA oncology

16 Feb 2026

Europe’s mRNA story is entering a new chapter.

Belgian biotech eTheRNA secured a €6.9 million grant from the European Commission under the Horizon TIGER project. The goal was clear: speed up development of mRNA-based cancer vaccines. That support continues within a wider EU strategy to sharpen Europe’s edge in advanced therapies.

The funding reflects a broader shift in Brussels. Through Horizon programs and their successor framework, the Commission has placed cancer research, biotech innovation, and health resilience at the center of its competitiveness agenda. TIGER, focused on next-generation immunotherapies, aligns closely with Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, which calls for faster progress in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.

For eTheRNA, the grant has helped advance clinical programs targeting HPV-related and other hard-to-treat cancers. Company leaders have framed the award as more than financial backing. It signals that Europe intends to lead in mRNA science long after the pandemic spotlight fades.

That ambition rests on foundations built during Covid-19. Vaccine production scaled at record speed, creating manufacturing muscle, regulatory experience, and deep technical talent. As demand for pandemic vaccines cooled, companies such as BioNTech and CureVac expanded their oncology pipelines, redirecting capacity toward personalized cancer therapies.

Public grants like TIGER’s play a quiet but crucial role. Cancer drug development is expensive and slow, often stretching across years of clinical trials. Early-stage funding helps de-risk bold ideas, moving them from promising lab data to milestones that can attract private investment and cross-border partnerships.

For policymakers, the objective is strategic. Europe wants to convert its pandemic-forged mRNA expertise into lasting leadership in high-value therapeutic markets. Continued emphasis on biotech innovation and health sovereignty shows this is not a short-term experiment.

Competition is intensifying, and regulatory pathways remain demanding. Yet sustained backing for projects like TIGER suggests confidence that mRNA platforms can unlock new frontiers in oncology.

Europe’s mRNA journey is no longer defined by emergency response. It is about turning scientific momentum into durable medical impact.