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Moderna Therapeutics is a biotechnology company that researches and develops protein therapies based on novel messenger RNA technology. The company’s technology uses messenger RNA made of nucleotide analogs to trigger the body’s natural processes to produce proteins inside the human cell. This approach has the potential to produce therapeutic proteins ''in vivo'' to treat a wide range of diseases, including those that cannot be effectively treated with existing methods to develop and manufacture drugs. The company was founded in 2010 in Cambridge, Massachusetts through funding from Flagship Ventures. Moderna’s founders include Noubar Afeyan of Flagship Ventures, Kenneth R. Chien of Harvard University and the Karolinska Institutet, Robert S. Langer of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Derrick Rossi of Boston Children’s Hospital. ==History== Moderna received venture capital and grant funding of $40 million from Flagship Ventures' VentureLabs unit and other private investors by December 2012.〔 In March 2013, Moderna Therapeutics and AstraZeneca signed a five-year exclusive option agreement to discover, develop and commercialize messenger RNA therapeutics for the treatment of serious cardiovascular, metabolic and renal diseases as well as selected targets in oncology. The agreement included a $240 million upfront payment to Moderna, a payment that is "one of the largest ever initial payments in a pharmaceutical industry licensing deal that does not involve a drug already being tested in clinical trials."〔 In October 2013, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded Moderna a grant worth up to $24.6 million to research and develop its messenger RNA drug technology to fight infectious diseases and biological weapons. In November 2013, Moderna secured an additional $110M in equity financing to further develop its mRNA Therapeutics platform as a private company.〔http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2013/11/20/the-daily-startup-moderna-to-advance-messenger-rna-therapies-privately-despite-ipo-market/〕 In January 2014, Moderna and Alexion Pharmaceuticals entered a $125 million deal to aid in the discovery and development of messenger RNA therapeutics used to treat rare diseases. Alexion paid Moderna $100 million exchange for 10 product options to develop rare-disease drugs using Moderna’s mRNA Therapeutics platform, and also made another $25 million preferred equity investment in Moderna.〔Reidy, Chris. ("Alexion, Moderna announce agreement to develop messenger RNA therapeutics ). ''Boston Globe''. January 13, 2014.〕 In June 2014, CNBC recognized Moderna as one of the top 50 companies whose innovations are having a dramatic impact across their industries, and are poised for hyper-growth.〔CNBC. ("CNBC's Disruptor 50 ). ''CNBC''. June 17, 2014.〕 In October 2014, Moderna announced a strategic research and clinical partnership with Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital, and established Moderna Therapeutics Sweden in Stockholm as its first expansion outside the U.S.〔Press release. ("Moderna to Collaborate with Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital on Discovery of New Messenger RNA Therapeutics™ ). October 16, 2014.〕 At the beginning of January 2015, Moderna announced announced that it had raised $450 million in new funding to support further expansion of its mRNA Therapeutics platform across multiple modalities and therapeutic areas. As of this announcement, Moderna had secured $950 million in funding through financing activities and commercial partnerships.〔Press release. ("Moderna Closes $450 Million Financing to Support Growth of Messenger RNA Therapeutics™ Platform across Diverse Therapeutic Areas" ). January 5, 2015.〕 On January 8, 2015, Moderna launched (Valera ), a venture focused exclusively on the advancement of vaccines and therapeutics for the prevention and treatment of viral, bacterial and parasitic infectious diseases.〔Press release. ("Moderna Launches New Venture Valera LLC for Infectious Diseases" ). January 8, 2015.〕 Also in January 2015, Moderna announced a license and collaboration agreement with (Merck ) for the discovery and development of vaccines and passive immunity treatments against viral diseases using modified messenger RNA (mRNA). Merck made an upfront cash payment to Moderna of $50 million to commercialize five product candidates, as well as a $50 million equity investment in Moderna.〔Press release. ("Moderna Announces License and Collaboration Agreement with Merck to Develop Messenger RNA-based Antiviral Vaccines and Passive Immunity Therapies" ). January 13, 2015.〕 In May 2015, Moderna launched (Elpidera ), a venture focused exclusively on developing messenger RNA (mRNA) based medicines for the treatment of rare diseases.〔Press release. ("Moderna Launches Third Venture Company Elpidera for Rare Diseases" ). May 12, 2015.〕 Also in May 2015, CNBC recognized Moderna the #1 Disruptor on its third-annual CNBC Disruptor 50 list.〔CNBC. ("CNBC's Disruptor 50 ). ''CNBC''. May 12, 2015.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Moderna Therapeutics」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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