STAT+: Moderna co-founder Kenneth Chien on the future of mRNA — and Moderna
Why this matters: health reporting relevant to everyday decisions and well-being.
Among all the awards and mementos Moderna co-founder Kenneth Chien has accumulated over a 50-year career in science, one stands out for its sheer luxe: an Hermes belt. It was a 2013 gift from Moderna CEO St&#x E9;phane Bancel, one of biotech’s more dapper CEOs, after Chien helped secure a large partnership between the then-tiny m RNA startup and the Swedish-British pharmaceutical giant Astra Zeneca.&#x A0; The deal accelerated Moderna’s ascent, helping bring billions in funding and of course the life-saving mRNA Covid vaccines. But the actual medicines AstraZeneca planned to build through those deals — up to 40 mRNA-based drugs for cancer and cardiovascular disease — never materialized. Continue to STAT+ to read the full story…