EDBI, the investment arm of the Economic Development Board, has joined a group of investors in a US$500 million (S$661 million) funding round for Moderna Therapeutics. This gives it a valuation of around US$7 billion and makes it one of the biggest unicorns in the biotech sector. (A unicorn is a start-up valued at over US$1 billion.)
Moderna is a clinical-stage biotech company that is creating a new generation of drugs and vaccines. These use messenger RNA (mRNA), the key messenger that cells use to turn the blueprints stored in their DNA into proteins.
Other new investors include a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, BB Biotech AG, Julius Baer and Sequoia Capital China. Existing investors that also participated in this round include Fidelity Management & Research Company, Pictet, Viking Global Investors, ArrowMark Partners and Alexandria Venture Investments. The company has yet to go for an initial public offering.
The funding will help drive the company's continued execution of its rapidly growing pipeline of 19 development candidates, including 10 programmes in clinical trials, said Moderna Therapeutics.
Proceeds will also be used to further Moderna's investment in its research engine and other priorities, including innovative drug discovery in rare disease and prophylactic vaccines, continued investment in mRNA science and technology to further advance the firm's mRNA development and delivery platform, and investment in the company's manufacturing infrastructure and digital backbone.
Moderna chief executive officer Stephane Bancel said: "This past year, we have demonstrated an ability to scale our platform and introduce new development candidates across multiple disease modalities, including promising opportunities in rare disease, immuno-oncology, and cardiovascular and infectious diseases."
With the completion of this funding round, Moderna has nearly US$1.4 billion in cash on its balance sheet. This is in addition to its potential access to up to nearly US$250 million in grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, a division of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response within the US Department of Health and Human Services; and the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency.
In December last year, the EDBI, along with other investors, also took part in a US$80 million funding round for Singapore-based biopharmaceutical company Tessa Therapeutics, an international clinical-stage company focusing on T-cell therapy for solid tumours.
