a16z Bio + Health #15: The mRNA Revolution with Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel

a16z Live

• mRNA research before COVID and how "mRNA is code" [3:21]
• The early days of COVID: designing a vaccine in 48 hours [5:44]
• The software behind the vaccine: getting mRNA researchers out of Excel and into a drug design studio [9:11]
• The first draft of the vaccine was the final draft [11:10]
• How the government sped up vaccine development for COVID [12:18]
• What other new vaccines will come from mRNA? [15:34]
• How far are we from these mRNA vaccines? What do we need for them to be widely available? [25:31]
• Open sourcing Moderna [27:53]
• When will COVID vaccines be available for a five year old? [29:47]
• The three factors that matter when dealing with COVID variants [30:46]
• How might open source shake up biotech [36:41]
• The moonshot applications for mRNA therapeutics [39:43]
• Advice for building a new category in a regulated environment [46:49]
• The clinical or regulatory advances needed to speed drug time to market [51:08]
• Challenge trials for vaccines: good or bad idea? [59:11]

It's Time to Heal, Mondays at 5pm PT on Clubhouse. Join the a16z bio team — Jorge Conde, Vineeta Agarwala, Julie Yoo, and Vijay Pande — plus special guests as they explore all the ways that biology is technology.