j_mendlein

Moderna Therapeutics names Dr John Medlein as new President, Corporate and Product Strategy

pharmafile | January 4, 2018 | Appointment | Business Services, Manufacturing and Production, Medical Communications, Research and Development, Sales and Marketing Moderna, Moderna Therapeutics, mrna 

Messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines specialist Moderna Therapeutics has announced the appointment of current board member Dr John Medlein as its new President of Corporate and Product Strategy, where he will manage a range of responsibilities including product advancement and strategy, partnering and product protection, and corporate strategy.

Dr Medlein has a rich background in life sciences, having previously served as Chief Executive Officer of aTyr Pharma, Adnexus Therapeutics, which has since been acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Fate Therapeutics, which he also co-founded. In addition, he holds board positions with Editas Medicine and Axcella Health, and has co-authored and co-invented more than 210 publications and published patents.

As well as his new role, Dr Medlein will serve on Moderna’s Executive Committee, in addition to continuing his tenure on the company’s Board of Directors, a position he has held since 2012.

“I have had the privilege of working closely with John for almost six years and I am delighted to now bring him into our company where he will contribute to our mission with a unique set of capabilities and experiences, including his scientific expertise and his insights from having run several successful biotech companies,” commented Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna. “We will benefit from his deep product and platform experience ranging from platform development, to the successful transition of product candidates into the clinic, to product and platform protection. John will be a great addition to our executive team, and I am thankful that he decided to deploy his many talents during this important time in the evolution of our organisation.”

Dr Mendlein himself said of his appointment: “Moderna represents a rare and vast opportunity to change the lives of patients and medicine from vaccines to immuno-oncology to rare diseases to newly emerging areas of its mRNA product engine. Over the past six years, under Stéphane’s leadership, I witnessed as a board member one of the most remarkable enterprise transformations as the team here took a captivating idea from our Chairman Dr Noubar Afeyan, applied world-class science, and created an unrivaled product engine that generates high-impact product opportunities for patients at a scale and speed not previously achieved by our industry. The implications of Moderna’s ability to program life with mRNA are both profound and impactful. I feel very lucky and privileged to join the Moderna team at this exciting time and to work with Stéphane and the team to benefit patients and shareholders alike.”

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