42°21′48″N71°05′28″W / 42.3633°N 71.091°W /42.3633; -71.091
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 Former headquarters inCambridge, Massachusetts | |
| Formerly | ModeRNA Therapeutics (2010–2018) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Public |
| ISIN | US60770K1079 |
| Industry | Biotechnology |
| Founded | September 2010; 14 years ago (2010-09) |
| Founders | |
| Headquarters | Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Key people |
|
| Products | |
| Revenue |  US$3.24 billion (2024) |
 US$−3.9 billion (2024) | |
| US$−3.6 billion (2024) | |
| Total assets | US$14.1 billion (2024) |
| Total equity | US$10.9 billion (2024) |
| Owners |
|
Number of employees | 5,800 (2024) |
| Website | modernatx |
| Footnotes / references [1][2][3] | |
Moderna, Inc. (/məˈdɜːrnə/mə-DUR-nə)[4] is an American pharmaceutical andbiotechnology company based inCambridge, Massachusetts, that focuses onRNA therapeutics, primarilymRNA vaccines. Thesevaccines use a copy of a molecule calledmessenger RNA (mRNA) to carry instructions for proteins to produce animmune response.[5][1] The company's name is derived from the terms "modified", "RNA", and "modern".[6][7][8]
The company's commercial products are theModerna COVID-19 vaccine, marketed as Spikevax and a RSV vaccine, marketed as Mresvia. The company has 44 treatment and vaccine candidates, of which 37 have enteredclinical trials. Candidates include possible vaccines forinfluenza,HIV,Epstein–Barr virus, theNipah virus,chikungunya,human metapneumovirus,varicella zoster virus, as well as acytomegalovirus vaccine, aZika virus vaccine funded by theBiomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, and threecancer vaccines. The company's pipeline also includes acell therapy-based treatment: arelaxinfusion protein being developed to treatacute decompensated heart failure. It also includes candidates that useOX40 ligand,interleukin 23,IL36G, andinterleukin 12 forcancer immunotherapy, specifically treatment ofbreast cancer,urothelial carcinoma,lymphoma, andmelanoma. Also being developed by Moderna is aregenerative medicine treatment that encodesvascular endothelial growth factor A to stimulateblood vessel growth for patients withmyocardial ischemia.[1][failed verification]
Moderna was founded in 2010 byDerrick Rossi,Timothy A. Springer,Kenneth R. Chien,Robert S. Langer, andNoubar Afeyan.[9]Stéphane Bancel, the current CEO, was appointed as CEO in 2011.[6][10] Between 2011 and 2017, Moderna raised $2 billion inventure capital funding.[7][8]
In November 2024, Moderna Inc. announced that Stéphane Bancel, currently serving as Chief Executive Officer, will step down from his role as Chief Commercial Officer while continuing as CEO. Moderna's President, Stephen Hoge, will take over responsibilities for the company's sales, medical, and research affairs.[11]
In 2013, the company formed a partnership withAstraZeneca to develop treatments for cardiovascular, metabolic, and renal diseases, as well as cancer. Moderna was also awarded a $25,000,000 grant by DARPA through a program Autonomous Diagnostics to Enable Prevention and Therapeutics: Prophylactic Options to Environmental and Contagious Threats (ADEPT-PROTECT). Its stated goal was to develop an mRNA vaccine with the capability to suppress a global pandemic within 60 days. In January 2014, the company entered an agreement withAlexion Pharmaceuticals to develop treatments against ten diseases.[12] On January 14, 2014, Moderna announced the creation of its first venture, Onkaido Therapeutics, to focus "exclusively on developing mRNA-based oncology treatments."[13][14] It launched its second venture, Valera, in January 2015, with a focus on "viral, bacterial and parasitic infectious diseases."[15][16] Employees of Valera and Moderna developed an mRNA vaccine candidate againstZika virus infection.[17] Another venture, Elpidera, was announced in May 2015 to continue work on RNA therapies advancing Moderna's work with Alexion.[18][19]
In 2015, the company formed a partnership withMerck & Co. to develop treatments for cancer, and in 2016 the company formed a partnership withVertex Pharmaceuticals to develop treatments forcystic fibrosis.[10][20][21][22] In January 2016, theBill & Melinda Gates Foundation committed to provide at least $20 million ingrant funding to the company.[1] In 2017, Alexion terminated its partnership with Moderna after safety issues prevented their work from reaching human trials.[23]
In July 2018, the company opened a 200,000 square foot facility inNorwood, Massachusetts for manufacturing, preclinical and clinical work.[24] In December 2018, Moderna became apublic company via the largestinitial public offering of a biotechnology company in history, raising $621 million by selling 27 million shares at $23 per share.[25][26]
The first mRNA vaccine developed by Moderna was forinfluenza in 2015, and its firstantibody encoded by mRNA was in 2019.[6] In 2023, Moderna acquired OriCiro Genomics, a Japanese manufacturer ofgenetic engineering tools, in its first acquisition.[27]
In early 2023, the company in collaboration withMerck wonbreakthrough status from the FDA for itsmRNA-4157/V940 drug candidate, acancer vaccine.[28][29]
In July 2023, the company entered into an agreement with the Chinese government to develop mRNA drugs for exclusive use inChina.[30]
In May 2024, the mRNA vaccine Mresvia was approved for medical use in the United States by the USFood and Drug Administration (FDA) for the prevention of lower respiratory tract disease caused byrespiratory syncytial virus in individuals 60 years of age and older,[31][32] the thirdRSV vaccine approved in the United States.
From 2020 to 2021, Moderna received $955 million fromOperation Warp Speed to accelerate development of its COVID-19 vaccine, with $4.9 billion committed in total for producing 300 million vaccine doses.[33][34]
In March 2020, theFood and Drug Administration approvedclinical trials for theModerna COVID‑19 vaccine candidate, and in December, the vaccine, mRNA-1273, was issued anemergency use authorization in the United States.[35][36] In 2022, it gained FDA approval both for themonovalent vaccine,Spikevax, and a bivalentbooster.[37]
In April 2022, Moderna announced plans to build a $180 million vaccine factory inMontreal, forming a 10-year partnership with theGovernment of Canada,Quebec, andMcGill University to produce 100 millionSpikevax doses annually and expand vaccine research capabilities.[38] The plant is scheduled to supply COVID-19 vaccines in the fall of 2025.[39]
In February 2023, the company agreed to pay $400 million to theNational Institutes of Health,Dartmouth College, andScripps Research to settle a dispute over the rights to a chemical technique that was used in the vaccine.[40]
Arbutus Biopharma filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Moderna in 2022, alleging that Arbutus developed lipid nanoparticles that enclose Modern'a vaccine's mRNA payload.[41] In April 2023, a court affirmed a decision to cancel a patent byArbutus Biopharma in connection with the dispute.[42] In April 2024, however, the court issued an order that strengthened Arbutus's arguments by interpreting patents at issue in the manner Arbutus had urged.[41]
Several legal cases between Moderna andPfizer andBioNTech in various countries, alleging that thePfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine violates the patent on Moderna'smRNA vaccine technology, are ongoing.[43]
In November 2024, British pharmaceutical companyGlaxoSmithKline (GSK) filed a lawsuit against Moderna Inc. in a U.S. federal court inDelaware, alleging that Moderna's COVID-19 vaccineSpikevax and RSV vaccine mResvia infringe on GSK’s patents related to messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. According to the complaint, Moderna's use of lipid nanoparticles—crucial for delivering fragile mRNA into the human body—violates several GSK patents covering similar delivery innovations.[44]
This lawsuit follows a similar legal action GSK brought against Pfizer and BioNTech earlier in 2024, claiming patent infringement over their mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine. GSK’s latest litigation seeks unspecified monetary damages from Moderna.[44]
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| Year | Revenue (mln. US$) | Net income (loss) (mln. US$) |
|---|---|---|
| 2019[1] | 60 | (514) |
| 2020[1] | 803 | (747) |
| 2021[1] | 18,471 | 12,202 |
| 2022[1] | 19,263 | 8,362 |
| 2023[1] | 6,848 | (4,710) |
| 2024[1] | 3,200 | (3,600) |
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