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Moderna, Inc.

BiotechnologyFounded 2010
Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya
Company data updated: October 2026

Founders

Who Founded Moderna?

Derrick Rossi, Robert Langer, Noubar Afeyan, Kenneth Chien · Founded 2010 · HQ today: Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Who founded Moderna?

Moderna was founded by Derrick Rossi, Robert Langer, Noubar Afeyan, Kenneth Chien in 2010. It is now led by Stéphane Bancel.

Founders
Derrick Rossi, Robert Langer, Noubar Afeyan, Kenneth Chien
Founded
2010
Headquarters
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
Number of founders
4
Current CEO
Stéphane Bancel (since 2011)
Where was Moderna founded?
Moderna was founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2010.
When was Moderna founded?
Moderna was founded in 2010.
Who started Moderna?
Moderna was founded by Derrick Rossi, Robert Langer, Noubar Afeyan and Kenneth Chien.
How old is Moderna?
Moderna is 16 years old as of 2026.

Founding Story

Moderna grew out of a 2010 discovery in Derrick Rossi's Harvard lab that modified mRNA could reprogram cells without triggering a strong immune reaction. Flagship Pioneering's Noubar Afeyan, MIT's Robert Langer and cardiologist Kenneth Chien joined Rossi to found ModeRNA Therapeutics, and Stéphane Bancel became CEO in 2011. The company raised large private rounds and an IPO in December 2018 before any product approval, and its first authorized product came in December 2020 with the COVID-19 vaccine.

Derrick Rossi

Co-founder 2010

Background

Derrick Rossi was a stem cell biologist at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute when he discovered that modified mRNA could reprogram adult cells into induced pluripotent stem cells without the genetic modification risks of viral vectors. This 2010 breakthrough, published in Cell Stem Cell, formed the scientific foundation of Moderna. Rossi had previously trained at Stanford University and the University of Helsinki, and his work built on the foundational mRNA research of Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman at the University of Pennsylvania. Rossi's decision to pursue commercialization of mRNA technology rather than pure academic research was driven by the realization that the technology could address a vast range of diseases beyond stem cell reprogramming.

Role at Moderna, Inc.

Rossi's discovery gave Moderna its name, from 'modified RNA'. He served on the company's early scientific advisory board but did not run it; Stéphane Bancel was recruited as CEO in 2011. Rossi returned to academic work at Harvard and Boston Children's Hospital and later co-founded Intellia Therapeutics.

Derrick Rossi was born in 1966 in Toronto. Education: University of Toronto; Dr Norman Bethune Collegiate Institute.

Robert Langer

Co-founder 2010

Background

Robert Langer is an Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and one of the most cited engineers in history, with more than 1,400 published papers and 1,400 issued and pending patents. Langer's expertise in drug delivery systems, particularly nanoparticle and polymer-based delivery, was critical to Moderna's development of lipid nanoparticle formulations that protect mRNA from degradation and facilitate cellular uptake. Langer had previously founded or co-founded more than 40 biotechnology companies, including Acuson, Momenta Pharmaceuticals, and BIND Therapeutics, giving him experience in translating academic science into commercial products. His decision to join Moderna was driven by the recognition that mRNA represented a new modality for drug delivery that could transform medicine.

Role at Moderna, Inc.

Robert Langer has served on Moderna's board of directors since its founding and has been instrumental in guiding the company's scientific strategy and partnerships. His laboratory at MIT continues to conduct foundational research in drug delivery, tissue engineering, and nanotechnology,, the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, and the Charles Stark Draper Prize. His involvement in Moderna provided credibility with investors and scientific collaborators, and his network of academic and industry relationships facilitated partnerships that accelerated the company's development. Langer's continued board service reflects his ongoing commitment to the company's mission of transforming mRNA science into medicines.

Robert Langer was born in 1948 in Albany. Education: Cornell University College of Engineering; Cornell University.

Noubar Afeyan

Co-founder 2010

Background

Noubar Afeyan is the founder and CEO of Flagship Pioneering, a Cambridge venture capital firm that has created more than 100 scientific ventures including Moderna, Seres Therapeutics, and Rubius Therapeutics. Afeyan, an Armenian-American entrepreneur with a PhD in biochemical engineering from MIT, recognized the commercial potential of Rossi's mRNA reprogramming discovery and provided the initial seed funding and incubation infrastructure that enabled Moderna's creation. Flagship's venture lab model involves providing capital, scientific expertise, and management support to early-stage companies, with Flagship typically retaining significant equity and board control. Afeyan's decision to fund Moderna was based on his thesis that mRNA could become a platform technology applicable across multiple therapeutic areas, not merely a single-product opportunity.

Role at Moderna, Inc.

Noubar Afeyan has served as Moderna's chairman since its founding and has been the architect of the company's strategic vision and capital structure. Under his leadership, Flagship Pioneering has built a portfolio of platform biotechnology companies that leverage scientific breakthroughs to create new therapeutic modalities. Afeyan has been instrumental in Moderna's financing strategy, including the 2018 IPO that raised $604 million and valued the company at $7.5 billion, and the subsequent capital raises that funded pandemic-scale manufacturing expansion. His vision of Moderna as a platform company rather than a product company has shaped the company's strategy of maintaining a broad pipeline across multiple therapeutic areas. Afeyan's continued involvement provides strategic continuity and access to Flagship's network of scientific and financial resources.

Noubar Afeyan was born in 1962 in Beirut. Education: McGill University; Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Kenneth Chien

Co-founder 2010

Background

Kenneth Chien is a cardiovascular scientist and professor at Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts General Hospital who was recruited by Derrick Rossi to join the founding team based on his expertise in cardiovascular biology and drug development. Chien's research focused on cardiac stem cells and regenerative medicine, and he recognized that mRNA could be used to produce therapeutic proteins for cardiovascular diseases including heart failure and ischemic heart disease. Chien's involvement provided scientific credibility in the cardiovascular therapeutic area which was one of Moderna's initial focus areas. His decision to join the founding team reflected his belief that mRNA technology could address the fundamental challenge of protein replacement therapy for genetic cardiovascular diseases.

Role at Moderna, Inc.

Chien's work on modified mRNA encoding VEGF-A for heart repair underpinned Moderna's early cardiovascular collaboration with AstraZeneca. He later moved to the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and stepped back from day-to-day involvement.

Kenneth Chien was born in 1951.

Moderna, Inc.: CEO & Leadership History

Full timeline →

Jamey Mock

Chief Financial Officer

2022 – Present

Oversees global finance, treasury, accounting, and investor relations, navigating Moderna through post-pandemic revenue contraction while managing cash reserves of $8.1 billion in cash and investments at the end of FY2025.

Stephen Hoge

President

2012 – Present

Serves as President directing preclinical research, clinical development, and platform innovation, leading the advancement of Moderna's pipeline from an early research concept into five commercialized vaccines and multiple late-stage Phase 3 oncology candidates.

Stéphane Bancel

Chief Executive Officer (first CEO)

2011 – Present

Bancel has led Moderna from a pre-revenue startup to a $180 billion market cap at its peak, overseeing the development of Spikevax in record time and the company's transition to a multi-product biotechnology enterprise. He oversaw about $2.2 billion of operating cost cuts in 2025 and a cash-breakeven target of 2028. In November 2024 he gave up direct oversight of sales and stayed on as chief executive (Bloomberg, November 5, 2024). Bancel joined Moderna in March 2011 as its second employee and a board member, and was appointed Chief Executive Officer in October 2011, making him the company's first CEO; Moderna was founded in 2010 without a prior chief executive. He came from bioMérieux, the French diagnostics company, where he had been CEO for five years, and before that held manufacturing and country-management roles at Eli Lilly.

Noubar Afeyan

Co-Founder & Chairman

2010 – Present

Has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors since inception, providing venture financing, governance, and long-term capital strategy that helped build Moderna from a startup laboratory into a public biotechnology enterprise.

Compare Moderna, Inc. Leadership With Competitors

Moderna, Inc. vs Gilead Sciences, Inc. Leadership →Overview

Keep researching Moderna

Who Founded Moderna? FAQ

Who were the four foundational co-founders of Moderna in 2010?

Moderna was founded in 2010 by Derrick Rossi (stem cell biologist at Harvard), Robert S. Langer (world-renowned MIT Institute Professor and pioneer in drug delivery), Noubar Afeyan (founder and CEO of Flagship Pioneering), and Kenneth R. Chien (cardiovascular scientist at Harvard and Karolinska Institute).

What was Derrick Rossi's 2010 scientific breakthrough that ignited Moderna's founding?

In 2010, Dr. Derrick Rossi published a landmark paper showing that by using modified synthetic mRNA (incorporating modified nucleosides to avoid triggering cellular interferon defense mechanisms), he could instruct human skin cells to reprogram into pluripotent stem cells without genetic DNA mutations.

Who is Robert Langer and what was his contribution to Moderna's drug delivery technology?

Professor Robert Langer of MIT is one of the most cited engineers in human history with over 1,400 patents. Langer recognized that Rossi's discovery could transform medicine if paired with advanced synthetic polymer and lipid nanoparticle delivery vehicles capable of transporting fragile mRNA into human cells.

What role did Flagship Pioneering and VentureLabs play in incubating Moderna?

Flagship Pioneering, led by Noubar Afeyan, incubated ModeRNA Therapeutics in Cambridge in 2010, funded its early work, and recruited Stéphane Bancel as CEO in 2011.

What was Kenneth Chien's early research in cardiac mRNA regeneration?

Dr. Kenneth Chien demonstrated that modified mRNA encoding human vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-A) could be injected into damaged heart muscle to stimulate the growth of new blood vessels, establishing Moderna's early therapeutic partnership with AstraZeneca.

Why did Derrick Rossi leave Moderna shortly after its founding?

After co-founding the company and serving on its initial scientific advisory board, Derrick Rossi returned to his academic research laboratory at Harvard University and Boston Children's Hospital, later co-founding several other biotech startups (including Intellia Therapeutics).

What was the 2013 early strategic partnership with AstraZeneca that validated Moderna?

In March 2013, before Moderna had tested a single drug in humans, AstraZeneca paid Moderna an unprecedented $240 million upfront cash payment for the exclusive rights to discover and develop mRNA therapeutics for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, validating the platform to global pharma.

How did the founders' commitment to platform breadth shape Moderna's pipeline?

Rather than focusing on a single therapeutic disease, the founders designed Moderna as a broad technological platform company, initiating parallel research programs in infectious disease vaccines, rare genetic metabolic disorders, immuno-oncology, and autoimmune diseases simultaneously.

Who is Robert Langer and how did he contribute to Moderna's founding?

Dr. Robert Langer is an Institute Professor at MIT and one of the most prolific biomedical inventors in human history with over 1,400 patents. As a co-founder of Moderna, Langer's pioneering expertise in micro- and nanoscale drug delivery systems was fundamental in developing the biocompatible lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) required to encapsulate and protect fragile mRNA inside the human bloodstream.

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