{"id":35373,"date":"2018-12-08T13:05:30","date_gmt":"2018-12-08T18:05:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sciencebusiness.technewslit.com\/?p=35373"},"modified":"2018-12-08T13:05:30","modified_gmt":"2018-12-08T18:05:30","slug":"rna-biotech-raises-604m-in-ipo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/technewslit.com\/sciencebusiness\/?p=35373","title":{"rendered":"RNA Biotech Raises $604M in IPO"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(Julien Gong Min, Flickr)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

8 Dec. 2018. Moderna Therapeutics, a biotechnology enterprise developing therapies with synthetic RNA, issued its initial public stock offering, or IPO, on Thursday, raising more than $604 million. The next day, however, the company’s stock, trading as MRNA on the Nasdaq exchange, took a major hit falling more than 19 percent from its IPO share price.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, Moderna released its long-awaited IPO, issuing nearly 26.3 million shares at $23.00 a share<\/a>, and raising more than $604 million, in what financial observers called the largest biotechnology IPO<\/a> ever. Moderna develops therapeutic proteins with a\u00a0technology<\/a>\u00a0that synthesizes\u00a0messenger RNA<\/a>, a nucleic acid based on the genetic code from DNA, and used by cells to produce the amino acids in proteins for cellular functions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Moderna manipulates the coding region in the messenger RNA chemistry to provide instructions for cells to produce proteins with specific therapeutic properties. Those coding instructions are contained in a standard package that appears in most cases like natural RNA to avoid triggering an immune response, and reach the desired cells where the therapeutic protein is needed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Moderna’s pipeline<\/a> focuses largely on infectious diseases and cancer immunotherapies. For infectious diseases, Moderna has vaccine candidates in early-stage clinical trials to prevent a influenza, Zika, Chikungunya, and respiratory syncytial viruses. As reported by Science & Enterprise<\/a> in February 2018, Moderna is also testing a vaccine to prevent cytomegalovirus<\/a>, a common virus related to herpes.<\/p>\n

The company’s cancer immunotherapies address mainly solid tumor cancers, but also lymphoma. Science & Enterprise<\/a> reported in November 2017 on a clinical trial of Moderna’s personal vaccine using messenger RNA, in combination with the immunotherapy drug Keytruda, made by Merck. In June 2016, drug maker Merck and Moderna<\/a> began their collaboration to develop personal RNA vaccines for cancer.<\/p>\n

On 7 December, the day after issuing the IPO, investors turned sour on Moderna Therapeutics as well as the broader stock markets. By the Nasdaq’s closing bell yesterday, Moderna shares<\/a> dropped from $23.00 to $18.60, a 19.1 percent decline. Moderna, however, was in good company. The Nasdaq overall<\/a> dropped more than 3 percent that day, with the Dow-Jones and Standard and Poor’s stock indexes declining almost as much.<\/p>\n

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