Mixed reactions as Moderna says it will offer vaccine to employees, board members, and their households
By Anissa Gardizy Globe Staff,Updated December 30, 2020, 12:41 p.m.
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The Moderna vaccine was unpacked in the pharmacy of Boston Medical Center.Suzanne Kreiter/Globe staff
Moderna released a statement Tuesday disclosing that it is making its COVID-19 vaccine available to its US-based workers, contractors, and board members, as well as the adults those people live with.
The Cambridge biotechâs plans put some individuals ahead of the countryâs vaccine distribution plan, which at least in Massachusetts puts the general public in the last phase of the rollout. Massachusetts is prioritizing health care workers and those living in long-term care facilities, and the general public is not expected to receive the vaccine until at least April.
Dive Brief:
Vertex will pay privately held biotech Skyhawk Therapeutics $40 million up front in a deal to develop small molecule drugs that can modify RNA and treat unspecified serious diseases.
The agreement gives Vertex options to license rights to programs that come from the work, after which the big biotech would take the lead on development and commercialization. The deal is heavily backloaded, including up to $2.2 billion in downstream payments as well as royalties that would only materialize if all goes well.
The alliance continues a string of deals for Vertex in untraditional fields of scientific research such as targeted protein degradation, messenger RNA therapeutics and gene editing, part of a plan to lessen its reliance on its core cystic fibrosis franchise. It also marks the latest indication of biopharma interest in chemical-based drugs that target RNA.