Moderna Therapeutics Secures $40 Million for New Way of Making Therapeutic Proteins

Moderna Therapeutics recently announced it has closed more than $40 million in financing to date, led by Flagship Ventures and private investors, which will be used to advance multiple programs toward clinical stage development. Moderna is pioneering messenger RNA Therapeutics, a novel biotherapeutic modality with the unprecedented capability of stimulating the body’s natural ability to produce therapeutic proteins. If successful in human clinical trials, this advance will usher in the first entirely new way of making therapeutic proteins since the development of recombinant technology more than 30 years ago, with significant implications for both patients and industry.

Moderna was founded within Flagship VentureLabs, an innovation foundry dedicated to institutional entrepreneuring. Over the past 18 months, Moderna has conducted proof-of-concept studies in preclinical models, including non-human primates, and has demonstrated the ability to induce in vivo production of dozens of intracellular and secreted therapeutic proteins through intramuscular, subcutaneous, or intravenous administration across multiple preclinical models. The company anticipates publishing and presenting the results of these studies in 2013.

Moderna has appointed an accomplished executive leadership team and scientific advisory board, and implemented a comprehensive intellectual property strategy surrounding messenger RNA Therapeutics, filing over 80 patent applications reciting more than 4,000 claims covering novel chemical modifications, RNA engineering, formulation, composition of matter, route of administration, and dosing. The company has established preclinical programs in four key therapeutic areas: oncology supportive care, inherited genetic disorders, hemophilia, and diabetes.

“Our messenger RNA Therapeutics platform has the potential to revolutionize the treatment of a wide variety of illnesses by opening up a completely new biotherapeutic modality, and by offering a technologically and financially superior path for the discovery, creation, and endogenous production of therapeutic proteins,” said Stephane Bancel, President and Founding CEO of Moderna. “In the last 18 months, we have charged ahead in this space, vigorously pursuing a robust IP portfolio. We have hired an experienced employee base and cultivated leadership and advisory teams who are offering deep insights as we advance key programs into clinical development. We are working with great urgency and great care to translate this groundbreaking science into new treatments for patients.”

“Moderna’s promise rivals that of the earliest biotechnology companies over 30 years ago – adding an entirely new drug category to the pharmaceutical arsenal in the fight against important diseases,” said Noubar Afeyan, Co-founder and Chairman of Moderna. “The executive team, board of directors, and scientific advisors all combine the expertise and passion needed to create an unparalleled company that fits the extraordinary scope of this opportunity,” he added.

Moderna is pioneering messenger RNA Therapeutics, an entirely new treatment modality that enables the body to produce therapeutic proteins in vivo. Moderna is using this approach to develop first-ever treatments for a wide range of diseases that cannot be addressed today using existing technologies, and to significantly reduce the time and expense associated with creating therapeutic proteins using recombinant technologies. The company has demonstrated proof-of-concept using messenger RNA Therapeutics for a variety of indications and is moving multiple programs into the clinic. For more information, visit www.modernatx.com.