Moderna

Moderna, Inc. (/məˈdɜːrnə/ mə-DUR-nə)[4] is an American pharmaceutical and biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts that focuses on RNA therapeutics, primarily mRNA vaccines. These vaccines use a copy of a molecule called messenger RNA (mRNA) to produce an immune response.[5][1]

Moderna, Inc.
FormerlyModeRNA Therapeutics
(2010–2018)
TypePublic
ISINUS60770K1079
IndustryBiotechnology
FoundedSeptember 2010 (2010-09)
Founders
Headquarters200 Technology Square
Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
Key people
ProductsSpikevax
Vaccine candidates
Revenue US$18.5 billion (2021)
US$13.3 billion (2021)
US$12.2 billion (2021)
Total assets US$24.7 billion (2021)
Total equity US$14.1 billion (2021)
OwnerStéphane Bancel (7.8%)
Noubar Afeyan (5.0%)
Robert S. Langer (2.9%)
Stephen Hoge (1.3%)
Number of employees
2,700 (2021)
Websitewww.modernatx.com
Footnotes / references
[1][2][3]

The company's only commercial product is the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, marketed as Spikevax. As of 2022, the company has 44 treatment and vaccine candidates, of which 21 have entered clinical trials. Targets for vaccine candidates include influenza, HIV, respiratory syncytial virus, Epstein–Barr virus, the Nipah virus, chikungunya, a combined single-shot COVID-19 booster and influenza vaccine, a cytomegalovirus vaccine, and two cancer vaccines. The company's pipeline also includes candidates for cancer immunotherapy using OX40 ligand, interleukin 23, IL36G, and interleukin 12 as well as, in partnership with AstraZeneca, a regenerative medicine treatment that encodes vascular endothelial growth factor A to stimulate blood vessel growth for patients with myocardial ischemia.[1]

History

Corporate

Moderna was incorporated in 2010, led by its cofounders, Derrick Rossi, Timothy A. Springer, Kenneth R. Chien, Bob Langer, and Noubar Afeyan.[6] The company's original name, "ModeRNA Therapeutics", derived from the combined terms "modified" and "RNA",[7] referring to a technology that designs mRNA to carry instructions for proteins to combat infections.[8][9] Stéphane Bancel was appointed as CEO in 2011 when company operations began, and remains in this position as of 2023.[7][10] Between 2011 and 2017, Moderna raised some $2 billion in partnership and venture capital funding.[8][9] In 2018, the company was renamed as Moderna, Inc..[10]

Technology development

In March 2013, Moderna and AstraZeneca signed a five-year agreement to commercialize mRNA for treatments of cardiovascular, metabolic, and renal diseases, and cancer.[10][11] Other industrial partnerships were formed with Merck in 2015 and Vertex in 2016.[12][13] In 2018, the company opened a 200,000 square foot facility in Norwood, Massachusetts for manufacturing, preclinical and clinical work.[7][14]

The first mRNA vaccine developed by Moderna was for influenza in 2015, and its first antibody encoded by mRNA was in 2019.[7] In 2023, Moderna made its first acquisition, buying OriCiro Genomics, a Japanese manufacturer of genetic engineering tools.[15]

Public offering

In December 2018, Moderna became a public company via the largest biotech initial public offering in history, raising $621 million (27 million shares at $23 per share).[16][17]

COVID-19 vaccine development
Main article: Moderna COVID-19 vaccine

From 2020-21, Moderna received $955 million from Operation Warp Speed to accelerate development of its COVID-19 vaccine, with $4.9 billion committed in total for producing 300 million vaccine doses.[18][19]

In March 2020, the Food and Drug Administration approved clinical trials for the Moderna COVID‑19 vaccine candidate, and in December, the vaccine, mRNA-1273, was issued an emergency use authorization in the United States.[20][21] In 2022, it gained FDA approval both for the monovalent vaccine, Spikevax, and a bivalent booster.[22]

In April 2022, Moderna announced plans to build a $180 million vaccine factory in Montreal, forming a 10-year partnership with the Canadian federal government, province of Quebec, and McGill University to produce 100 million Spikevax doses annually and expand vaccine research capabilities.[23]

Financial data
Year Revenue
(mln. US$)		 Net income (loss)
(mln. US$)
2019[1] 60 (514)
2020[1] 803 (747)
2021[1] 18,471 12,202

NIH vaccine patent dispute

Moderna is involved in a patent dispute with the NIH over its COVID-19 vaccine.[24] According to the NIH, three of its scientists played a major role in developing the vaccine over four years of collaboration.[25][26] After first refuting the shared patent application entirely, Moderna postponed the final payment for filing the application, thereby leaving the patent application unfiled as of December 2021.[26]

Pfizer and BioNTech patent lawsuits

On August 26, 2022, Moderna sued Pfizer and BioNTech in both Massachusetts and Germany, accusing the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine of violating the patent on Moderna's mRNA vaccine technology.[27]

See also

Notes

    References
    1. "Moderna, Inc., 2021, Form 10-K Annual Report" (PDF). U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
    2. "Moderna, Inc. Schedule 14A 2021 Proxy Statement". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. March 9, 2022.
    3. "Key Facts". Moderna.
    4. Moderna (October 23, 2019). mRNA-3704 and Methylmalonic Acidemia (video) – via YouTube.
    5. Park KS, Sun X, Aikins ME, Moon JJ (December 2020). "Non-viral COVID-19 vaccine delivery systems". Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews. 169: 137–51. doi:10.1016/j.addr.2020.12.008. PMC 7744276. PMID 33340620.
    6. Elton, Catherine (March 2013). "The NEXT Next Big Thing". Boston Magazine. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020.
    7. "Moderna, Our story; Our big moments". Moderna, Inc. 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
    8. Garde, Damian; Saltzman, Jonathan (November 10, 2020). "The story of mRNA: How a once-dismissed idea became a leading technology in the Covid vaccine race". Stat. Archived from the original on November 10, 2020.
    9. Servick, Kelly (March 25, 2020). "This mysterious $2 billion biotech is revealing the secrets behind its new drugs and vaccines (from the original, 1 February 2017)". Science. doi:10.1126/science.aal0686.
    10. Garde, Damien (September 13, 2016). "Ego, ambition, and turmoil: Inside one of biotech's most secretive startups". Stat. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020.
    11. Weisman, Robert (March 21, 2013). "Moderna in line for $240m licensing deal". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020.
    12. "Moderna: Strategic collaborators". Moderna, Inc. 2023. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
    13. "Vertex and Moderna hammer out $315 million+ deal to treat cystic fibrosis using mRNA technology". BioSpace. July 6, 2016. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
    14. DeAngelis, Allison (July 17, 2018). "Moderna's $110M Norwood site built with expansion hopes". American City Business Journals.
    15. Hayden Schmidt (January 5, 2023). "Moderna to Buy Japanese Firm OriCiro in Its First-Ever Acquisition". PharmaNews Intelligence. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
    16. Mukherjee, Sy (December 8, 2018). "Moderna Had the Biggest Biotech IPO Ever. Here's What That Says About the Industry's Future". Fortune. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020.
    17. Ramsey, Lydia (December 7, 2018). "Moderna just priced the biggest IPO in biotech history, valuing the startup at $7.5 billion". Business Insider. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020.
    18. Miriam Valverde (November 19, 2020). "How Pfizer's and Moderna's COVID-19 vaccines are tied to Operation Warp Speed". PolitiFact. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
    19. Simi V. Siddalingaiah (March 1, 2021). "Operation Warp Speed Contracts for COVID-19 Vaccines and Ancillary Vaccination Materials". Congressional Research Service, United States Government. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
    20. "Statement from NIH and BARDA on the FDA Emergency Use Authorization of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine". National Institutes of Health. December 18, 2020.
    21. "Moderna COVID vaccine becomes second to get US authorization". Nature. December 18, 2020. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
    22. "Moderna COVID-19 vaccines". US Food and Drug Administration. December 15, 2022. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
    23. "Moderna facility in Montreal area expected to produce 100 million vaccine doses by 2024". CBC News. April 29, 2022.
    24. Ledford, Heidi (November 30, 2021). "What the Moderna–NIH COVID vaccine patent fight means for research". Nature. 600 (7888): 200–201. Bibcode:2021Natur.600..200L. doi:10.1038/d41586-021-03535-x. PMID 34853416. S2CID 244800045.
    25. Steenhuysen, Julie (November 11, 2021). "Moderna COVID-19 vaccine patent dispute headed to court, U.S. NIH head says". Reuters. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
    26. Robbins, Rebecca; Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (December 18, 2021). "Moderna backs down in its vaccine patent fight with the N.I.H." The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
    27. Robbins, Rebecca; Gross, Jenny (August 26, 2022). "Moderna Sues Pfizer and BioNTech Over Covid Vaccine Technology". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
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