Moderna, Inc. ( ) is an American pharmaceutical and

biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

company based in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

, that focuses on

RNA therapeutics RNA therapeutics are a new class of medications based on RNA, ribonucleic acid (RNA). Research has been working on clinical use since the 1990s, with significant success in cancer therapy in the early 2010s. In 2020 and 2021, mRNA vaccines have b ...

, primarily

mRNA vaccine An mRNA vaccine is a type of vaccine that uses a copy of a molecule called messenger RNA (mRNA) to produce an immune response. The vaccine delivers molecules of antigen-encoding mRNA into cells, which use the designed mRNA as a blueprint to b ...

s. These

vaccine A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifi ...

s use a copy of a molecule called

messenger RNA In molecular biology, messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) is a single-stranded molecule of RNA that corresponds to the genetic sequence of a gene, and is read by a ribosome in the process of synthesizing a protein. mRNA is created during the ...

(mRNA) to carry instructions for proteins to produce an

immune response An immune response is a physiological reaction which occurs within an organism in the context of inflammation for the purpose of defending against exogenous factors. These include a wide variety of different toxins, viruses, intra- and extracellula ...

. The company's name is derived from the terms "modified", "RNA", and "modern". The company's commercial products are the

Moderna COVID-19 vaccine The Moderna COVID19 vaccine, sold under the brand name Spikevax, is a COVID-19 vaccine developed by the American company Moderna, the United States National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and the Biomedical Advanced ...

, marketed as Spikevax and a RSV vaccine, marketed as Mresvia. The company has 44 treatment and vaccine candidates, of which 37 have entered

clinical trial Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human subject research, human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel v ...

s. Candidates include possible vaccines for

influenza Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

Epstein–Barr virus The Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), also known as human herpesvirus 4 (HHV-4), is one of the nine known Herpesviridae#Human herpesvirus types, human herpesvirus types in the Herpesviridae, herpes family, and is one of the most common viruses in ...

, the

Nipah virus Nipah virus (''Henipavirus nipahense'') is a bat-borne, Zoonosis, zoonotic virus that causes Nipah virus infection in humans and other animals, a disease with a very high mortality rate (40-75%). Numerous disease outbreaks caused by Nipah virus ...

chikungunya Chikungunya is an infection caused by the chikungunya virus (CHIKV). The disease was first identified in 1952 in Tanzania and named based on the Kimakonde words for "to become contorted". Chikungunya has become a global health concern due to ...

human metapneumovirus Human metapneumovirus (HMPV or hMPV) is a negative-sense single-stranded RNA virus of the family ''Pneumoviridae'' and is closely related to the avian metapneumovirus (AMPV) subgroup C. It was isolated for the first time in 2001 in the Netherland ...

varicella zoster virus Varicella zoster virus (VZV), also known as human herpesvirus 3 (HHV-3, HHV3), is one of nine known herpes viruses that can infect humans. It causes chickenpox (varicella) commonly affecting children and young adults, and shingles (herpes zos ...

, as well as a cytomegalovirus vaccine, a Zika virus vaccine funded by the

Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is a center within the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) located within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) responsible for the p ...

, and three

cancer vaccine A cancer vaccine, or oncovaccine, is a vaccine that either treats existing cancer or prevents development of cancer. Vaccines that treat existing cancer are known as ''therapeutic'' cancer vaccines or tumor antigen vaccines. Some of the vaccines ...

History

Moderna was founded in 2010 by Derrick Rossi, Timothy A. Springer, Kenneth R. Chien, Robert S. Langer, and Noubar Afeyan.

Stéphane Bancel Stéphane Bancel (born 20 July 1972) is a French business executive. He is the chief executive officer (CEO) of the American pharmaceutical and biotechnology company Moderna, known for its COVID-19 vaccine. Before joining Moderna, Bancel was the ...

, the current CEO, was appointed as CEO in 2011. Between 2011 and 2017, Moderna raised $2billion in

venture capital Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to start-up company, startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in ...

funding. 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.

Product development

In 2013, the company formed a partnership with

AstraZeneca AstraZeneca plc () (AZ) is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with its headquarters at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in Cambridge, UK. It has a portfolio of products for major diseases in areas includi ...

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 with

Alexion Pharmaceuticals Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a subsidiary of AstraZeneca, is a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts that specializes in orphan drugs to treat rare diseases. Its products include eculizumab (Soliris) and ravulizumab ( ...

to develop treatments against ten diseases. On January 14, 2014, Moderna announced the creation of its first venture, Onkaido Therapeutics, to focus "exclusively on developing mRNA-based oncology treatments." It launched its second venture, Valera, in January 2015, with a focus on "viral, bacterial and parasitic infectious diseases." Employees of Valera and Moderna developed an mRNA vaccine candidate against

Zika virus Zika virus (ZIKV; pronounced or ) is a member of the virus family ''Flaviviridae''. It is spread by daytime-active ''Aedes'' mosquitoes, such as '' A. aegypti'' and '' A. albopictus''. Its name comes from the Ziika Forest of Uganda, where ...

infection. Another venture, Elpidera, was announced in May 2015 to continue work on RNA therapies advancing Moderna's work with Alexion. In 2015, the company formed a partnership with Merck & Co. to develop treatments for cancer, and in 2016 the company formed a partnership with

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is an American biopharmaceutical company based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was one of the first biotech firms to use an explicit strategy of rational drug design rather than combinatorial chemistry. It maint ...

to develop treatments for

cystic fibrosis Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disorder inherited in an autosomal recessive manner that impairs the normal clearance of Sputum, mucus from the lungs, which facilitates the colonization and infection of the lungs by bacteria, notably ''Staphy ...

. In January 2016, the

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation The Gates Foundation is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was launched in 2000 and is reported to be the third largest charitable foundation in the world, holding $ ...

committed to provide at least $20 million in grant funding to the company. In 2017, Alexion terminated its partnership with Moderna after safety issues prevented their work from reaching human trials. In July 2018, the company opened a 200,000 square foot facility in

Norwood, Massachusetts Norwood is a town and census-designated place in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Norwood is part of the Greater Boston area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,611. The town was named after Norwood, England. Norwood is ...

for manufacturing, preclinical and clinical work. In December 2018, Moderna (ticker symbol: MRNA) became a

public company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of share capital, stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter (finance), over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) co ...

via the largest

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...

of a biotechnology company in history, raising $621million by selling 27 million shares at $23 per share. The first mRNA vaccine developed by Moderna was for

in 2015, and its first

antibody An antibody (Ab) or immunoglobulin (Ig) is a large, Y-shaped protein belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily which is used by the immune system to identify and neutralize antigens such as pathogenic bacteria, bacteria and viruses, includin ...

encoded by mRNA was in 2019. In 2023, Moderna acquired OriCiro Genomics, a Japanese manufacturer of

genetic engineering Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of Genetic engineering techniques, technologies used to change the genet ...

tools, in its first acquisition. In early 2023, the company in collaboration with Merck won breakthrough status from the FDA for its mRNA-4157/V940 drug candidate, a

. In July 2023, the company entered into an agreement with the Chinese government to develop mRNA drugs for exclusive use in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. In May 2024, the mRNA vaccine Mresvia was approved for medical use in the United States by the US

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respo ...

(FDA) for the prevention of lower respiratory tract disease caused by

respiratory syncytial virus Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), also called human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV) and human orthopneumovirus, is a virus that causes infections of the respiratory tract. It is a negative-sense, single-stranded RNA virus. Its name is derive ...

in individuals 60 years of age and older, the third RSV vaccine approved in the United States.

COVID-19 vaccine

From 2020 to 2021, Moderna received $955million from

Operation Warp Speed Operation Warp Speed (OWS) was a public–private partnership initiated by the United States government to facilitate and accelerate the development, manufacturing, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics. The firs ...

to accelerate development of its COVID-19 vaccine, with $4.9billion committed in total for producing 300 million vaccine doses. In March 2020, the

approved

s for the Moderna COVID‑19 vaccine candidate, and in December, the vaccine, mRNA-1273, was issued an emergency use authorization in the United States. In 2022, it gained FDA approval both for the monovalent vaccine, ''Spikevax'', and a bivalent booster. In April 2022, Moderna announced plans to build a $180 million vaccine factory in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, forming a 10-year partnership with the

Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, and

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

to produce 100 million ''Spikevax'' doses annually and expand vaccine research capabilities. The plant is scheduled to supply COVID-19 vaccines in the fall of 2025. In February 2023, the company agreed to pay $400 million to the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

, and

Scripps Research Scripps Research is a nonprofit American medical research facility that focuses on research and education in the biomedical sciences. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the institute has over 170 laboratories employing 2,100 scientists, tec ...

to settle a dispute over the rights to a chemical technique that was used in the vaccine. 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. In April 2023, a court affirmed a decision to cancel a patent by Arbutus Biopharma in connection with the dispute. 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. Several legal cases between Moderna and

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered at The Spiral (New York City), The Spiral in Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 184 ...

and BioNTech in various countries, alleging that the

Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine The Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, sold under the brand name Comirnaty, is an MRNA vaccine, mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine developed by the German biotechnology company BioNTech. For its development, BioNTech collaborated with the America ...

violates the patent on Moderna's

technology, are ongoing.

Legal disputes

In November 2024, British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) filed a lawsuit against Moderna Inc. in a U.S. federal court in

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

, alleging that Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine Spikevax 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. 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.

Financial data

References

External links

* {{authority control 2010 establishments in Massachusetts 2018 initial public offerings American companies established in 2010 Biotechnology companies of the United States Biotechnology companies established in 2010 Companies based in Cambridge, Massachusetts Companies listed on the Nasdaq Health care companies based in Massachusetts COVID-19 vaccine producers Medical research Pharmaceutical companies of the United States