How has COVID-19 accelerated the growth of Moderna?
The pharmaceutical firm behind mRNA vaccines employed 800 people before the pandemic. It now has some 4,000 workers and will increase its workforce to 6,000 by the year-end.
SINGAPORE: The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the growth of United States drugmaker Moderna by five years, according to chief executive Stephane Bancel.
The biotech firm’s messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) technology has been used in developing COVID-19 vaccines.
On Wednesday (Jan 4), Moderna agreed to buy Japan-based OriCiro Genomics for US$85 million to boost its mRNA manufacturing capabilities.
The growth of medicine is important, Mr Bancel told CNA’s Asia Tonight.
Last month, an experimental cancer vaccine from Moderna was shown to work against melanoma, a type of skin cancer.
GROWING AMBITIONS
Before the coronavirus struck, the company employed just 800 people. At the end of last year, it had some 4,000 workers.
There are plans for the workforce to be increased by a further 50 per cent to 6,000 staff globally, by the end of this year, said Mr Bancel on Wednesday.
“What the company is now, is in a position of having grown a lot,” he said. “So a lot of new technology is going to be accelerated, thanks to the pandemic.”
He shared that Moderna’s goal was to be the best mRNA firm globally.
“We take a very long-term view on things,” said Mr Bancel. “We say that we want to invest in science at Moderna, and we are doing that extensively.
“We have around 500 people just working on expanding the mRNA operating system. But we do not believe the best science will always come from our labs. We want to find the best technologies in the world.”
ASIAN POTENTIAL
Mr Bancel believes the acquisition of Japan’s OriCiro could boost the biomedical technology scene in Asia.
“I think it just confirms what we've known for quite a while. The quality of the academic work in Asia, in Japan, in China, all over Asia is very strong,” he said, adding that a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation is growing in the region.
OriCiro is working on the development of cell-free synthesis and amplification of a type of DNA molecule for use in mRNA manufacturing. Its technologies will support Moderna's therapeutics and vaccines.
“OriCiro has developed an amazing technology to cut the manufacturing time of mRNA, and so we think it's very enabling and powerful for us,” said Mr Bancel.
“And it's coming from Japan because we do not care where the science comes from. We want the best science regardless of where it comes from in the world.”
Moderna already has a strong presence in Asia, including having products in Japan and South Korea. It also has plans to develop drugs specifically for the region, including for diseases more commonly found there such as dengue.
Pointing to the strengths of Asia, including a large talent pool and strong work ethic of its people, Mr Bancel said: “There are a lot of reasons why we are very excited about Asia.”
