Tal Zaks

It wasn't clear to the rest of us, frankly, whether this would peter out like prior vaccines. If you remember January, February, even beginning of March of 2020, common wisdom would have had that, yeah, this is going to peter out. This is not going to be a big thing. Stefan was absolutely operating in a very different mindset.

It wasn't clear to the rest of us, frankly, whether this would peter out like prior vaccines. If you remember January, February, even beginning of March of 2020, common wisdom would have had that, yeah, this is going to peter out. This is not going to be a big thing. Stefan was absolutely operating in a very different mindset.

He saw the opportunity and with his own will and management team, took the company there. And the rest, as they say, is history.

He saw the opportunity and with his own will and management team, took the company there. And the rest, as they say, is history.

So first of all, we were very well positioned in the beginning of 2020 to get there. What most people don't realize is that by the beginning of 2020, Moderna had already tested the ability of mRNA to generate neutralizing antibodies in humans against eight different viruses. COVID was to be our ninth. And our success rate was eight out of eight, okay? That is unprecedented in drug development.

So first of all, we were very well positioned in the beginning of 2020 to get there. What most people don't realize is that by the beginning of 2020, Moderna had already tested the ability of mRNA to generate neutralizing antibodies in humans against eight different viruses. COVID was to be our ninth. And our success rate was eight out of eight, okay? That is unprecedented in drug development.

It's a function of the platform nature of this. And so if you get the antigen right, that thing you're trying to immunize against, you're gonna hit. And so we were very well prepared. And the other thing that helped us along was that we had already been collaborating with the NIH before then. So the government got to know us, BARDA and the NIH, during Zika.

It's a function of the platform nature of this. And so if you get the antigen right, that thing you're trying to immunize against, you're gonna hit. And so we were very well prepared. And the other thing that helped us along was that we had already been collaborating with the NIH before then. So the government got to know us, BARDA and the NIH, during Zika.

People forget that, but in 2017, Zika was all the scare. So we partnered with the government. We started to develop a Zika vaccine. By the time we got there, it was of no interest. OK, but at least the NIH took notice of the rapidity and potential of this platform.

People forget that, but in 2017, Zika was all the scare. So we partnered with the government. We started to develop a Zika vaccine. By the time we got there, it was of no interest. OK, but at least the NIH took notice of the rapidity and potential of this platform.

And in fact, I've told this story before, but in September of 2019, Stefan and I went down to see Tony Fauci and the NIH, and we were talking about the latest vaccine. It was something against cytomegalovirus. And Dr. Fauci looked at me and says, so what you're telling me, Tal, is you've got the best vaccine platform I've ever seen.

And in fact, I've told this story before, but in September of 2019, Stefan and I went down to see Tony Fauci and the NIH, and we were talking about the latest vaccine. It was something against cytomegalovirus. And Dr. Fauci looked at me and says, so what you're telling me, Tal, is you've got the best vaccine platform I've ever seen.

And with a bit of chutzpah, I said, yes, sir, and let me tell you why. And so the outcome of that meeting was twofold. Number one, the NIH wrote a paper. They published it in 2019. You can find it online with Dr. Fauci and his team citing mRNA technology as a leading platform in our readiness for pandemic. This is November of 2019.

And with a bit of chutzpah, I said, yes, sir, and let me tell you why. And so the outcome of that meeting was twofold. Number one, the NIH wrote a paper. They published it in 2019. You can find it online with Dr. Fauci and his team citing mRNA technology as a leading platform in our readiness for pandemic. This is November of 2019.

The second thing was that we had agreed with the NIH, we would run a demonstration project where the NIH team would pick a virus, something nobody ever heard of, we haven't sequenced before, they'd send us the sequence, we'd make a quick batch, they'd test it in a phase one, and we'll start the clock and we'll see how fast we can go. That was the outcome of that meeting, and then some of the

The second thing was that we had agreed with the NIH, we would run a demonstration project where the NIH team would pick a virus, something nobody ever heard of, we haven't sequenced before, they'd send us the sequence, we'd make a quick batch, they'd test it in a phase one, and we'll start the clock and we'll see how fast we can go. That was the outcome of that meeting, and then some of the

Someone started coughing in Wuhan in December. Two months later, the rest is history. So we were well prepared as a company with a platform. And it's interesting, there was a recent economist piece on personalized cancer vaccine and how it all benefited from COVID and mRNA vaccine. What people don't realize is actually the opposite is true.

Someone started coughing in Wuhan in December. Two months later, the rest is history. So we were well prepared as a company with a platform. And it's interesting, there was a recent economist piece on personalized cancer vaccine and how it all benefited from COVID and mRNA vaccine. What people don't realize is actually the opposite is true.

When we set out to do the personalized cancer vaccine, in order to treat somebody with cancer at a personalized dose, you have to make a small batch and you have to have a very quick turnaround time because people with cancer, they can't wait. And so we had set out years before to build a manufacturing process that would allow us to churn out a small batch in a rapid turnaround time. Guess what?

When we set out to do the personalized cancer vaccine, in order to treat somebody with cancer at a personalized dose, you have to make a small batch and you have to have a very quick turnaround time because people with cancer, they can't wait. And so we had set out years before to build a manufacturing process that would allow us to churn out a small batch in a rapid turnaround time. Guess what?