The Next Chapter of mRNA

In the autumn of 2026, Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, reflected on the company's remarkable journey that began fifteen years ago with skepticism about the potential of messenger RNA, or mRNA, as a platform for producing new medicines. At the time, no mRNA-based products were approved for use, and most scientists believed the genetic material was too unstable to be the basis for new treatments. Moderna's CEO had his doubts too, but a fateful meeting with Noubar Afeyan, founder of Flagship Pioneering, changed everything.

Afeyan pitched a team of scientists with the idea of developing new treatments from mRNA. The team presented data from mice that had been injected with human mRNA to make a human protein, which Bancel initially dismissed as impossible. However, Afeyan persisted, arguing that if the technology worked, it could lead to the creation of hundreds, if not thousands, of medicines that were currently unattainable using traditional biotech methods.

Bancel was intrigued and began to see the potential of mRNA as a transformative platform for drug development. The company's goal was not to follow the usual road map of developing one type of drug for one disease at a time, but to build a new platform from which a variety of different treatments could be developed in a plug-and-play scenario. This approach would allow for the rapid creation of vaccines, cancer therapies, and treatments for rare diseases.

Moderna's mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, which was approved in 2021, saved an estimated two million lives globally and generated $46 billion in revenue for the company over the following three years. In October 2026, the company announced the approval of its first mRNA flu shot, followed by the announcement of a partnership with Merck to develop an mRNA therapeutic vaccine for cancer.

By the end of 2026, Bancel expected to unveil the results of Moderna's first mRNA therapy for a rare disease. The company's success with mRNA technology had positioned it as a leader in the field, quickly becoming the preferred technology for vaccine development due to its speed and efficiency. With mRNA, the human body could become its own treatment factory, capable of producing the right proteins to fight viruses, fix genetic diseases, or tackle tumors.