a16z Podcast

The Machine That Made the Vaccine: Company, Platform, Innovation

Hanne Winarsky and Jorge Conde

Posted December 21, 2020

In this special episode of Bio Eats World — which aired right after the FDA authorized Moderna’s mRNA vaccine for emergency use — Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel tells the story of not just the vaccine’s development, but the machine that made the vaccine: the platform, the technology, and the moves behind the vaccine’s development.

How does this new technology that uses mRNA work; why is this such a fundamental shift in the world of drug development; and where will this technology go next?