Moderna: The Software of Life

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- Part 1: Jason Kelly

[00:02:31] - [First question] - What is a biotech company?

[00:03:50] - Defining Moderna as a company in the biotech space

[00:05:15] - Bridging the gap between Biotech and Genentech

[00:06:02] - Overview of the history of learning to program cells

[00:07:46] - Big milestones from the discovery to the human genome project

[00:10:03] - Technical process and tool of how one modifies and copies genes

[00:11:45] - The scale and tools of modern DNA design

[00:11:41] - Defining printing DNA sequences

[00:14:05] - What the Moderna vaccine is and how it works

[00:17:24] - The first engineered drug of its kind 

[00:18:24] - Other areas where synthetic biology appears in everyday life

[00:22:19] - How many sectors this type of technology will disrupt

[00:23:32] - The history of Moderna and how they came to be

[00:24:41] - What problem Moderna tries to solve and how they approach it

[00:27:11] - Unique deal components in therapeutics and the FDA

[00:29:06] - Key factors that will make Moderna a dominant player in the near future 

[00:30:01] - How Genentech became as big as they did 

[00:30:53] - Competitive and compounded advantages for biotech companies

[00:32:09] - Lessons for investors and entrepreneurs in studying Moderna’s story

- Part 2: Matthew Harrison 

[00:34:10] - What is Moderna and how it got started

[00:36:10] - Typical route taken for a drug maker and how Moderna is different

[00:37:16] - What separates Moderna from others in the biotech space today

[00:39:12] - The role software and technology has played a role in Moderna’s success

[00:41:42] - Cementing their position through breakthroughs and capitalizing on them 

[00:42:58] - How Moderna generates their revenue 

[00:44:45] - Overview of cost of sales, expense buckets, and gross margin

[00:46:20] - Factors involved in how one evaluates a biotech company

[00:47:15] - How many drugs are in Moderna’s pipeline compared to others

[00:47:45] - Drugs being developed that aren’t so currently controversial 

[00:51:26] - Risks of drug development and their market potential

[00:54:01] - Internal operations of drug development and what separates Moderna

[00:55:30] - Advantages of having the ability to customize drug delivery

[00:57:17] - Comparing Moderna’s mRNA to others on the market 

[00:59:44] - High-level breakdown of pharmaceutical R&D

[01:01:33] - Other P&L and financial components that arise given the nature of biotech 

[01:03:09] - Contrast between the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine

[01:04:18] - What Moderna will have to get right in order to become the next Pfizer 

[01:05:38] - What Moderna would have to get wrong to limit their growth

[01:07:24] - Company culture and the importance of management

[01:08:06] - Lessons for builders and entrepreneurs in studying Moderna’s story