Moderna

Moderna is an American pharmaceutical and biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It focuses on drug discovery, drug development, and vaccine technologies based exclusively on messenger RNA (mRNA).

History

Moderna was founded in 2010 by Noubar Afeyan, Robert Langer, Derrick Rossi, and others. The company was initially funded by the venture capital firm Flagship Pioneering. In 2013, Moderna and AstraZeneca signed a five-year exclusive option agreement to discover, develop, and commercialize mRNA for treatments in the cardiovascular, metabolic and renal disease area, and selected targets for cancer. The deal included a $240 million upfront payment to Moderna.

mRNA Technology

Moderna's technology platform inserts synthetic nucleoside-modified mRNA (modRNA) into human cells using a coating of lipid nanoparticles. This mRNA then reprograms the cells to prompt immune responses. It is a novel technique, different from the traditional vaccines, which often use an inactivated or attenuated virus, or a piece of a virus, to provoke an immune response.

COVID-19 Vaccine

In 2020, Moderna gained worldwide attention for developing one of the first mRNA vaccines for COVID-19. The vaccine, known as mRNA-1273, was developed in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The vaccine was granted emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December 2020.

See Also

• mRNA
• COVID-19 vaccine
• AstraZeneca
• National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration

References

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