Throughout 2009 and 2010, Stéphane Bancel (MBA 2000) had received upward of 20 calls from biotech companies asking him to come aboard and lead the company. It made sense. He was a highly recruited CEO successfully running bioMérieux, a diagnostics company with 6,000 employees and sales reaching into the billions. Then one evening he got a call from Noubar Afeyan, managing partner and CEO of Flagship Ventures, a venture capital firm that started Moderna, asking Bancel to swing by the company's Boston office and take a look at the latest data coming in on their patented technology, messenger RNA (mRNA) Therapeutics.

The data that Bancel saw that evening were shocking. The numbers suggested Moderna had found an entirely new way to treat diseases—one that promised to change the medical world, resulting in cures for rare diseases and treatments for cancer. Even better, to a businessman like Bancel, the technology would be inexpensive to produce. Still, Bancel was incredulous. The numbers seemed too good to be true, and he was reluctant to leave a prestigious job to join a company with one employee and one patent. But then Afeyan said, "Stéphane, what if the data are correct?"

Bancel took a few weeks to weigh his options, and in mid-2011 he became president and founding CEO of Moderna. He feels certain that the company is producing something that could turn the biotech world—and the treatment of patients— on its head; and it all hinges on messenger RNA, or mRNA, the molecules responsible for transporting DNA code from a cell's nucleus to the ribosomes that create proteins. mRNA Therapeutics, as the company calls this new drug application, gives patients' cells the code they need to begin creating their own proteins and antibodies to fight disease.

This is how Bancel explains the process to his two young children: Think of your body as needing a recipe book, with each page detailing the directions to produce specific proteins. When a protein goes haywire—as might be the case with diabetes, when insulin needs to be produced to keep blood sugar levels in check—ideally a patient can be injected with Moderna's mRNA, which offers directions, or a specific recipe, to individual cells, which then use it to produce the protein or antibody needed to tackle the problem. In other words, mRNA Therapeutics offers a little help to the body so it can essentially heal itself.

It's all very exciting in theory, but moving a company from a one-man, one-patent startup to an organization that could change the face of therapy takes some business strategy. "We have a big sense of responsibility to make this happen," says Bancel, but "we are very well aware that [a breakthrough in] the biotech industry takes a lot of time; it takes a lot of money; it's complicated science."

And it takes a lot of people—from scientists to executives to board members. Bancel admits that people see the potential fairly quickly; the challenge will be to keep their attention along a lengthy path with plenty of bumps along the way, from the potential of failed trials to regulatory hurdles. He often reminds his team about their mission. "What excites us when we get out of bed is that we believe we have a chance to do something transformational for society and for patients."

In addition to guiding the Moderna team toward a long-term vision, Bancel is responsible for securing the funds to support the journey—ideally from investors who are on board with the mission, as well. He recalls one meeting with potential investors in Europe. He had made his case, but sensed apprehension in the body language of one investor. So Bancel turned to the man and said, "Even though we could use your money, do not invest." The potential investors were shocked. "It's because I know it's going to be a very long journey…I need investors who come along with us, who understand the potential but at the same time are comfortable with all of the things we're doing to reduce risk."

There's plenty of risk involved in biotech startups. The data might not pan out. The funds might not stream in, or all that "potential" might get caught up in the regulatory process. Investors and potential employees often worry about the red tape of regulatory agencies like the FDA, for example. Bancel explains, "Instead of being arrogant about it, instead of trying to put our heads in the sand and not deal with the issue, Noubar and I looked at each other, and we said, 'Who is the best person to help us through the challenges?'" The answer to that question was Peter Barton Hutt, former chief counsel for the FDA and an expert on food and drug law, so they recruited him to join the board.

Moderna is now winning over some very big supporters. In September of 2013, the company's academic cofounders, Kenneth Chien and Derrick Rossi, published a paper in the journal Nature Biotechnology that showed mRNA Therapeutics was capable of stimulating blood vessel growth, repairing damaged heart tissue, and helping a mouse through myocardial infarction.

In March of 2013, AstraZeneca offered the company $240 million for the development and exclusive use of the mRNA technology to treat cardiovascular, renal, and metabolic diseases as well as cancer. "It is one of the largest-ever initial payments in a pharmaceutical industry licensing deal that does not involve a drug already being tested in clinical trials," according to the New York Times. Then, in October, the government's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded Moderna $25 million to develop mRNA to combat infectious diseases and biological threats.

"What we're trying to do is not easy," says Bancel. "We were looking for people who were very experienced, who would be a good fit for the company, and we look for people who are a tiny bit crazy," he says. "You cannot claim you're trying to do something very special—that is very different—with people who can't think outside the box."

This, coming from a guy who did just that, setting aside a lucrative and promising career to take a chance on what could be the breakthrough that everyone is waiting for. "All my life I have been thinking about the next challenge," says Bancel when discussing his move to the company. "From HBS, I kept getting bigger and bigger jobs," including, he says, that big seat as bioMérieux CEO at the age of 33.

Now just 41, this man, who says he never wants to regret a thing, who was recruited to lead giant companies being traded on NASDAQ and NYSE, and who is willing to admit that he himself is a "tiny bit crazy," chose to lead a tiny biotech startup now in its third year—and it could be his biggest job yet.

Listen to an interview with Stéphane Bancel on the Harvard Innovation Labs' podcast series The Other Side.

Post a Comment