Moderna Therapeutics Making Waves at JPM HealthCare Conference

Prior to last year’s J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, Moderna Therapeutics made waves with the largest biotech private funding round ever–a $446m round in December 2014.

And now, the news is spreading to the masses.

Moderna Therapeutics, a company that focuses on using messenger RNA, or mRNA, to spur the production of human proteins within patient cells, creating what Moderna describes as an in vivo factory for targeted therapies, had a standing room only crowd at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in California as they disclosed they are transitioning to a clinical stage biotech.

According to sources, the company expects to begin the clinical trials in the first quarter of this year for for different drugs that could eventually become stand-alone companies. Moderna Therapeutics disclosed that they expect to begin testing on five other mRNA treatments later this year.

With big name partnerships that include AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN), Merck (NYSE: MRK) and Alexion Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ALXN), Moderna Therapeutics has had tremendous buzz. The well-funded private venture will now look to execute its next step of its plan by reportedly expanding the workforce by 56% to 500 employees by year’s end. The company said it finished 2015 with around $802 million in cash.

“It’s remarkable to consider all that we have been able to accomplish since the company’s inception just over four years ago,” said Mr. Stephane Bancel, the company’s CEO, in a press release by the company. “Our success to date speaks to the validity and superiority of our novel mRNA approach, the vision and dedication of our team and the continued support and commitment of our partners and investors. I believe this trajectory will define Moderna in 2016 and for many years to come.”

On the heels of the clinical trial announcement came news of a $20 million grant coming in from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant will go to the company’s infectious disease venture to help prevent HIV infection.

The pre-clinical efficacy in Moderna’s vaccines have been demonstrated in multiple viral disease models according to the company.

There are a lot of biotech companies currently trading in the marketplace and in the IPO pipeline, but it seems one that has yet to file for an IPO is near the top of the list for biotech investors.