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Caperna developing personalized cancer vaccines in combination with other cancer immunotherapies. Moderna finalizing the development of rapid cycle-time, small-batch GMP capabilities to support the development of personalized therapies.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., October 22, 2015 鈥� Moderna Therapeutics, a pioneer in the development of messenger RNA (mRNA) Therapeutics鈩�, today announced the launch of Caperna LLC, the fourth Moderna venture, which will focus exclusively on the advancement of personalized cancer vaccines. Caperna will apply Moderna鈥檚 mRNA vaccine technology to the field of cancer vaccines, building on advances in recent years in cancer immunotherapy, including the availability of checkpoint inhibitors and the ability to rapidly determine individual patient mutations.

Caperna will develop personalized cancer vaccines that encode a patient鈥檚 specific neoepitopes, utilizing Moderna鈥檚 unique infrastructure to manufacture within weeks small batches of vaccines tailored to each patient.

Substantial efforts at Moderna鈥檚 infectious disease venture Valera have demonstrated preclinical efficacy of Moderna鈥檚 mRNA-based vaccines in multiple viral disease models, which has led to the nomination of several viral vaccine development candidates. These advancements have spurred the formation of Caperna and the pursuit of vaccine development for the treatment of cancer.

Tal Zaks, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer of Moderna, who was formerly Senior Vice President and Head of Global Oncology at Sanofi, will serve as Interim President of Caperna. Nicholas Valiante, Ph.D., who recently joined Moderna from Novartis Vaccines where he was Global Head of Immunology & Immunotherapy Research, will serve as Vice President and Head of Personalized Vaccine Sciences.

鈥淲ith such a potent vaccine platform and a manufacturing process that lends itself directly to rapid production of patient-specific therapies, we believe Moderna鈥檚 mRNA approach will offer distinct advantages in the development of new cancer therapies,鈥� said Dr. Zaks. 鈥淲e expect our ability to specifically activate and direct the immune system will synergize with checkpoint inhibitor therapies like PD-1 antibodies.鈥�

鈥淲hat is perhaps most exciting about our approach and our core protein expression platform is its potential to leverage a broad spectrum of leading-edge drug modalities,鈥� said St茅phane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna. 鈥淐aperna is an important example of Moderna鈥檚 unique ability to rapidly translate our ever-evolving understanding of mRNA into new therapeutic opportunities that have the potential to impact and change numerous lives. Caperna will be backed by Moderna鈥檚 $840 million of cash on hand.鈥�

Onkaido, Moderna鈥檚 initial oncology venture, remains focused on the development of mRNA-based therapeutics for oncology in areas outside of the personalized cancer vaccine effort at Caperna.

About Caperna LLC, a Moderna Venture

Caperna LLC, the fourth venture company formed by Moderna, is focused exclusively on the advancement of personalized cancer vaccines. Caperna is leveraging Moderna鈥檚 messenger RNA Therapeutics鈩� platform, an entirely new in vivo drug technology that produces proteins natively, to develop novel, personalized cancer vaccines for the treatment of cancer. For more information please visit .

About Moderna Therapeutics

Moderna is pioneering messenger RNA Therapeutics鈩�, an entirely new in vivo drug technology that produces human proteins, antibodies and entirely novel protein constructs inside patient cells, which are in turn secreted or active intracellularly. This breakthrough platform addresses currently undruggable targets and offers a superior alternative to existing drug modalities for a wide range of disease conditions. The company currently plans to develop and commercialize its innovative mRNA drugs through a combination of strategic relationships as well as newly formed ventures, including Onkaido LLC, focused on oncology drug development, Valera LLC, focused on infectious diseases, Elpidera LLC, focused on rare diseases, and Caperna LLC, focused on personalized cancer vaccines. Founded by Flagship VentureLabs庐, Cambridge-based Moderna is privately held and currently has strategic agreements with AstraZeneca, Alexion Pharmaceuticals and Merck. .