Moderna, Inc. history, profile and corporate video
Moderna, Inc. is an American pharmaceutical and biotechnology company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. It was formed in 2010 as ModeRNA Therapeutics by Noubar B. Afeyan (investor), Robert S. Langer, Jr. (investor), Timothy A. Springer (investor), Derrick J. Rossi and Kenneth R (investor).
The company was founded to commercialize the research of the Canadian stem cell biologist Derrick Rossi. Rossi had developed a method of modifying mRNA by first transfecting it into human cells, then dedifferentiating it into bone marrow stem cells which could then be further differentiated into desired target cell types.
In 2013, Moderna signed a five-year exclusive option agreement with AstraZeneca to discover, develop, and commercialize mRNA for treatments in the therapeutic areas of cardiovascular, metabolic, and renal diseases, and selected targets for cancer.
In 2018, the company rebranded as Moderna, Inc., and further increased its portfolio of vaccine development.
In 2020, Moderna developed a COVID‑19 vaccine, along with the United States National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
The company focuses on drug discovery, drug development, and vaccine technologies based on messenger RNA, or mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid). Its pipeline includes development candidates for mRNA-based vaccines and therapies spanning several therapeutic areas, such as prophylactic vaccines, cancer vaccines, intratumoral immuno-oncology, localized regenerative therapeutics, systemic secreted therapeutics, and systemic intracellular therapeutics.
With more than 800 employees, Moderna, Inc. is considered one of the top 2000 largest public companies in the world, according to Forbes.
*Information from Forbes.com, Wikipedia.org, and www.modernatx.com.
**Video published on YouTube by “Moderna“.