In over ten years since its inception, Moderna has transformed from an infectious disease-focused research-stage company advancing programs in the field of messenger RNA (mRNA) to a company with a diverse portfolio of vaccines and therapeutics across seven modalities.
Through its mission to deliver on the promise of mRNA science to create a new generation of transformative medicines, Moderna’s capabilities have come together to allow the authorized use and approval of one of the earliest and most effective vaccines to prevent COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2.
“In January 2020, just two days after the Chinese authorities shared the genetic sequence of the novel coronavirus, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Moderna’s infectious disease research team finalized the sequence for mRNA-1273.”
Moderna’s research and manufacturing capabilities rose rapidly to meet the global public health needs of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the power of mRNA technology, the first dose of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine was delivered to the National Institutes of Health for testing on February 24th, 2020, with the first volunteer receiving their vaccine on March 16th, 2020, highlighting the flexibility and capabilities mRNA technology has in responding to global health emergencies.
“Well, the race started even before we knew we were developing a vaccine against COVID. When all of us learned in the early part of January that there was a new respiratory pathogen that was spreading through China, and everybody realized it was a coronavirus.”
The preventive advantages to mRNA science
mRNA technology has proven to be one of the fastest routes to developing highly effective vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic and has had a monumental impact on global health.
mRNA science has the potential to address several major disease areas such as infectious diseases, rare diseases, heart disease, and cancer. Collaboration is essential to expand the potential impact of mRNA vaccines, which is why Moderna launched mRNA Access in March 2022.
mRNA Access was established to accelerate innovation and enable new vaccines and medicines for emerging and neglected infectious diseases through collaborative research and preclinical development.
The program encourages researchers at partnering institutions to take advantage of Moderna's mRNA platform to develop medicines for emerging and neglected diseases. mRNA Access will also allow scientists to explore novel vaccine designs against prototype viral families in preparation for Disease X. 1
“We don't believe that everything is going to be invented by Moderna, and in fact, we think some of the best things won't be, and our commitment is to make our technology available to academic researchers, to government researchers globally, not just in the traditional powerhouses.”
Sustainable and social development
With the potential of mRNA, science comes a global responsibility to the multitude of individuals the technology can help, regardless of whether they have a disease shared by millions or one that is unique to them alone.
Moderna is committed to ensuring that its intellectual property, or concerns about enforcement of its intellectual property, do not pose a barrier to access. In October 2020, Moderna was the first and only company to pledge not to enforce patents for those making vaccines to fight COVID-19 during the pandemic. The Company has since announced that it will never enforce its COVID-19 intellectual property rights in the Gavi-eligible AMC-92 countries or against manufacturers producing COVID-19 vaccines for distribution in those markets.
Moderna has a responsibility to do its part to ensure the sustainability of our planet and considers its impact on the environment when making decisions, as laid out in the Company’s first Environmental, Social and Governance Report. As part of this value, Moderna is dedicated to achieving net zero emissions by 2030 by applying sustainability designs implemented across their existing facilities and future sites.
“We also want to be a great steward of the environment and use natural resources in a responsible way.”
[1] "Disease X" was named by the WHO to represent the knowledge that a serious international epidemic could be caused by a pathogen currently unknown to cause human disease. https://www.who.int/activities/prioritizing-diseases-for-research-and-development-in-emergency-contexts
