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Derrick Rossi

HSCI-supported research leads to new class of therapeutics

December 13, 2018

Biotech company Moderna, co-founded by HSCI scientist Derrick Rossi, is set to bring a new class of treatments to patients.

Summary

  • Derrick Rossi’s research into using mRNA as a new kind of therapeutic was initially supported by HSCI seed funding, and gave rise to biotech company Moderna Therapeutics.
  • Moderna’s public offering of $600 million is the largest ever of a venture-capital-backed biotechnology company, reflecting the potential of its new technology: mRNA therapeutics
  • Moderna’s success in creating therapies that will benefit patients reflects the crucial role of HSCI in enabling early-stage, high-risk research.

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HSCI research inspires startup

November 16, 2016

Startup Magenta Therapeutics licences technologies from Harvard, MGH, and Boston Children's that could transform treatment of blood diseases and immune disorders

Harvard University has completed a license agreement with Magenta Therapeutics, a new startup company launched in Cambridge, for a portfolio of technologies with the potential to transform blood stem cell transplants from a “treatment of last resort” into a safer, more efficient therapy for patients with blood diseases...

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Company that began with an HSCI seed grant announces $240M investment

March 22, 2013

This week the New York Times published an article announcing a $240M investment by Astra Zeneca in Moderna Therapeutics, a start-up company founded by HSCI Principal Faculty Derrick Rossi. As the Times says, "It is one of the largest ever initial payments in a pharmaceutical industry licensing deal that does not involve a drug already being tested in clinical trials." 

The idea behind the company started several years ago when HSCI funded a project in Rossi's lab focused on using modified RNA to reprogram stem cells. Not only was this successful and a breakthrough in itself,...

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