Moderna

42.3633°N 71.091°W / 42.3633; -71.091

Moderna, Inc. (/məˈdɜːrnə/ mə-DUR-nə) is a pharmaceutical and biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that focuses on RNA therapeutics, primarily mRNA vaccines. These vaccines use a copy of a molecule called messenger RNA (mRNA) to carry instructions for proteins to produce an immune response. The company's name is derived from the terms "modified", "RNA", and "modern".

The company's only commercial product is the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, marketed as Spikevax. The company has 45 treatment and vaccine candidates, of which 38 have entered clinical trials. Candidates include possible vaccines for influenza, HIV, respiratory syncytial virus, Epstein–Barr virus, the Nipah virus, chikungunya, human metapneumovirus, varicella zoster virus, as well as a cytomegalovirus vaccine, a Zika virus vaccine funded by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, and three cancer vaccines. The company's pipeline also includes a cell therapy-based treatment: a relaxin fusion protein being developed to treat acute decompensated heart failure. It also includes candidates that use OX40 ligand, interleukin 23, IL36G, and interleukin 12 for cancer immunotherapy, specifically treatment of breast cancer, urothelial carcinoma, lymphoma, and melanoma. Also being developed by Moderna is a regenerative medicine treatment that encodes vascular endothelial growth factor A to stimulate blood vessel growth for patients with myocardial ischemia.