Blackstone Life Sciences (BXLS) announced it will fund up to $750 million of Moderna’s research to develop a flu vaccine in exchange for royalties, assuming this program achieves certain milestones.
This announcement followed Moderna’s announcement that a new version of its COVID vaccine, Spikevax, drove a stronger immune response against the virus than the current version, according to a late-stage trial. Moderna’s current COVID-19 vaccine is called Spikevax.
Moderna has been looking for ways to diversify its revenue stream after the demand for its COVID products dropped last year. Moderna utilizes a technology called messenger RNA (mRNA) for its vaccines. This triggers the body’s cells to make protein fragments found in a virus, setting up a protective immune response.
This new partnership continues Blackstone Life Sciences’ work and support for many of the world’s leading and most innovative biopharmaceutical and medical technology companies. And Blackstone seeks to provide customized financing solutions for companies across therapeutic areas for supporting mission critical scientific innovation and advance important products to patients.
The additional terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
KEY QUOTES:
“Moderna has demonstrated a remarkable ability to impact human health through mRNA vaccines targeting respiratory illnesses. This landmark collaboration is another example of our long-standing strategy to partner with the world’s leading life science companies to advance their critical path vaccines, medicines and medical technologies to patients.”
- Nicholas Galakatos, Ph.D., Global Head of Blackstone Life Sciences
“Moderna is advancing a broad and diverse pipeline at a pace not seen before in our industry. Our goal is to launch multiple vaccine products in the next few years and deliver the greatest possible impact to people through mRNA medicines. Achieving this ambition requires substantial investment in late-stage studies and we are excited to welcome Blackstone and their innovative financing model.”
- Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna
