Moderna Announces mRNA Immunotherapy Research Collaboration with Harvard University
September 26 2019 - 08:00AM
Business Wire
Collaboration seeks to explore fundamental
immunological processes and identify potential therapeutic
opportunities
Moderna, Inc., (Nasdaq: MRNA) a clinical-stage biotechnology
company pioneering messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines
to create a new generation of transformative medicines for
patients, today announced a multi-year research collaboration with
Harvard University with the goal of identifying and developing
novel therapeutic approaches that could improve the lives of
patients with immunological diseases. Additional funding from
Moderna to Harvard Medical School (HMS) will establish an
initiative at HMS called the Alliance for RNA Therapies for the
Modulation of the Immune System (ARTiMIS), which will enable basic
science research in the field of immunology using Moderna’s mRNA
and nanoparticle delivery technology. The HMS Department of
Immunology is hosting a symposium with Moderna to launch the
ARTiMIS initiative today.
“Immunological dysfunction is at the heart of many of the
biggest medical challenges faced today. Harvard University and its
affiliated medical institutions are leaders in advancing basic and
translational science to better understand the biological
mechanisms of these complex disorders,” said Stephen Hoge, M.D.,
president at Moderna. “We believe that combining our technical
capabilities in mRNA delivery with Harvard Medical School’s
expertise in immunology will lead to innovative therapies with the
potential to make a significant impact on people’s lives.”
The ARTiMIS initiative will enable HMS-affiliated investigators
to access Moderna’s platform for mRNA and novel immune delivery and
will provide financial support for exploratory research projects,
including the work of postdoctoral researchers at HMS. Moderna has
provided the initial funding for ARTiMIS through a $1.2 million
grant and will also provide investigators with mRNA and
nanoparticle delivery technology and materials. Projects selected
for funding by ARTiMIS will aim to advance basic understandings of
fundamental immunological processes, generate new mechanistic
insights in the pathogenesis of immunological diseases and discover
novel approaches to the prevention, diagnosis and therapy of human
diseases.
“ARTiMIS provides an exciting opportunity for the HMS Immunology
community to utilize Moderna’s mRNA and delivery technology to
advance the field of immunology, toward our shared goal of serving
patients,” said Arlene Sharpe, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Department
of Immunology and co-director of the Evergrande Center for
Immunologic Diseases at Harvard Medical School. “By combining the
talents of leading immunologists at Harvard with this innovative
technology, we hope to enable new discoveries in multiple areas of
immunology.”
To further advance insights toward therapeutics, Moderna has
also entered into a multi-year research agreement with the
university at large, through the Harvard Office of Technology
Development. Under this collaboration framework, Moderna will
initially provide sponsored research funding of up to $2.45 million
in support of a project led by Ulrich von Andrian, M.D., Ph.D., the
Edward Mallinckrodt Jr. Professor of Immunopathology and Director
of the Center for Immune Imaging at HMS. This project aims to use
mRNA technologies to study and manipulate the migration of immune
cells from blood to tissues.
“Between the ARTiMIS initiative and the broader research
collaboration between Moderna and Harvard, we have established a
collaborative framework to support continuous innovation in
immunology,” said Isaac Kohlberg, Harvard’s Chief Technology
Development Officer and Senior Associate Provost. “This access to
focused funding and technical resources will enable Harvard
researchers to make impactful advances in biomedical science, from
the generation of basic biological insights to, we hope, the
preclinical development of new immunotherapies.”
About Moderna Moderna is advancing messenger RNA (mRNA)
science to create a new class of transformative medicines for
patients. mRNA medicines are designed to direct the body’s cells to
produce intracellular, membrane or secreted proteins that can have
a therapeutic or preventive benefit and have the potential to
address a broad spectrum of diseases. Moderna’s platform builds on
continuous advances in basic and applied mRNA science, delivery
technology and manufacturing, providing the Company the capability
to pursue in parallel a robust pipeline of new development
candidates. Moderna is developing therapeutics and vaccines for
infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases and
cardiovascular diseases, independently and with strategic
collaborators.
Headquartered in Cambridge, Mass.,
Moderna currently has strategic alliances for development programs
with AstraZeneca, Plc. and Merck, Inc., as well as the Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), an agency of the U.S.
Department of Defense; the Biomedical Advanced Research and
Development Authority (BARDA), a division of the Office of the
Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) within the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Moderna has
been ranked in the top ten of Science’s list of top biopharma
industry employers for the past four years. To learn more, visit
www.modernatx.com.
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Media: Colleen Hussey Senior Manager, Corporate
Communications 203-470-5620 Colleen.Hussey@modernatx.com
Dan Budwick 1AB Media 973-271-6085 dan@1abmedia.com
Investors: Lavina Talukdar Head of Investor Relations
617-209-5834 Lavina.Talukdar@modernatx.com
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