Moderna, Inc., (Nasdaq: MRNA) a clinical stage biotechnology company pioneering messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines to create a new generation of transformative medicines for patients, today announced that Elizabeth Tallett has joined its Board of Directors. Ms. Tallett was also appointed to serve on the Audit Committee of the Board. With the appointment of Ms. Tallett, Dr. François Nader is stepping down from the Audit Committee.

“As Moderna approaches advanced stages of clinical development across our programs, we are focused on strengthening our board with industry leaders who understand the complexity of building companies to make a positive impact on patients,” said Noubar Afeyan, Co-Founder and Chairman of Moderna and Chief Executive Officer of Flagship Pioneering. “Liz understands the opportunities and challenges of growing healthcare companies and I am excited to welcome her to the Board and to the Audit Committee.”

"I am delighted to be joining Moderna's board at such a unique point in its history, as it rapidly moves towards commercialization of its first products and starts to fulfill its mission of creating a new class of life-saving mRNA medicines and vaccines,” said Ms. Tallett. “I look forward to working with the board and management of this dynamic and innovative company.”

“As we prepare for late-stage development of our COVID-19 vaccine and our CMV vaccine, we sought a director with diverse experience leading companies poised for growth,” said Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna. “Liz’s extensive experience leading healthcare companies of different sizes will be an asset as we continue to scale and prepare for commercial launch. I look forward to her guidance to help us to continue to build our best possible version of Moderna.”

Ms. Tallett has spent more than 35 years in strategic leadership and operational roles in worldwide biopharmaceutical and consumer products industries. Her senior management positions include Principal of Hunter Partners, President and CEO of Transcell Technologies Inc., President of Centocor Pharmaceuticals and member of the Parke-Davis Executive Committee.

In addition to serving on the Moderna Board of Directors, Ms. Tallett is currently the Chair of Anthem, Inc. (NYSE: ANTM) and Chair of the H.R. and Compensation Committee of the Principal Financial Group (Nasdaq: PFG), Meredith Corp. Inc. (NYSE: MDP), and Qiagen, Inc. (NYSE: QGEN). Until this year, Ms. Tallett was the Lead Director for Principal, a role she also held at Coventry Health Care, Inc. She has also served on the boards of Varian, Inc. (NYSE: VAR), IntegraMed America Inc. (Nasdaq: INMD) and Varian SemiConductor Associates, Inc. Ms. Tallett was a founding member of the Biotechnology Council of New Jersey and is the Chair of the board of trustees at Solebury School, PA. She was named a Financial Times Outstanding Director of the year in 2015 and recognized as one of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Directorship 100 honorees in 2019.

Born and educated in England, Ms. Tallett graduated from Nottingham University with a dual first class honours degree in mathematics and economics.

About Moderna

Moderna is advancing messenger RNA (mRNA) science to create a new class of transformative medicines for patients. mRNA medicines are designed to direct the body’s cells to produce intracellular, membrane or secreted proteins that have a therapeutic or preventive benefit with the potential to address a broad spectrum of diseases. Moderna’s platform builds on continuous advances in basic and applied mRNA science, delivery technology and manufacturing, providing the Company the capability to pursue in parallel a robust pipeline of new development candidates. Moderna is developing therapeutics and vaccines for infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases and cardiovascular diseases, independently and with strategic collaborators.

Headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., Moderna currently has strategic alliances for development programs with AstraZeneca PLC and Merck & Co., Inc., as well as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Nasdaq: DARPA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Defense and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a division of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Moderna has been named a top biopharmaceutical employer by Science for the past five years. To learn more, visit www.modernatx.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200701005518/en/

Media:
Colleen Hussey
Senior Manager, Corporate Communications
617-335-1374
Colleen.Hussey@modernatx.com

Investors:
Lavina Talukdar
Head of Investor Relations
617-209-5834
Lavina.Talukdar@modernatx.com

Copyright Business Wire 2020