AstraZeneca Ups Stake in Moderna Therapeutics

AstraZeneca has invested another $140 million in US biotech concern Moderna Therapeutics. The new investment is part of a preferred-stock financing and lifts its stake in Moderna to 9%. Moderna’s knowhow is being used to develop drugs based on messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) which helps create proteins inside cells, offering a new way of tackling diseases that are hard to treat with existing therapies.

The British-Swedish drugmaker first invested in Moderna in March 2013 to access its expertise for developing mRNA medicines for cardiovascular, metabolic and renal diseases, as well as oncology. A further agreement made in January 2016 focuses on developing cancer treatments. Moderna has two Phase I studies underway for mRNA-based infectious disease vaccines. Last month, AstraZeneca and Moderna filed for approval in Germany to run another Phase I clinical trial of a vascular disease treatment.

Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Moderna also has strategic agreements in place with Alexion Pharmaceuticals, US Merck and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The firm has so far raised more than $1.2 billion in cash to fund its efforts.