Moderna

 ( Official Website ) 

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 to develop treatments for cystic fibrosis. In January 2016, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation 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 for manufacturing, preclinical and clinical work. In December 2018, Moderna became a public company via the largest initial public offering 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 influenza in 2015, and its first antibody encoded by mRNA was in 2019. In 2023, Moderna acquired OriCiro Genomics, a Japanese manufacturer of genetic engineering 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 cancer vaccine.

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

In May 2024, Mresvia, a mRNA respiratory syncytial virus vaccine, was approved for medical use in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the prevention of lower respiratory tract disease caused by respiratory syncytial virus in individuals 60 years of age and older, the third respiratory syncytial virus vaccine approved in the United States.

In March 2020, the Food and Drug Administration approved 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 shot.

In April 2022, Moderna announced plans to build a $180 million vaccine factory in Montreal, forming a 10-year partnership with the Government of Canada, Quebec, and McGill University 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, Dartmouth College, and Scripps Research to settle a dispute over the rights to a chemical technique that was used in the vaccine.