The inside story of an unprecedented feat of science and business. At the start of 2020
Moderna was a biotech unicorn with dim prospects. Yes there was the promise of its disruptive
innovation that could transform medicine by using something called messenger RNA one of the
body's building blocks of life to combat disease. But its stock was under water. There were
reports of a toxic work culture. And despite ten years of work the company was still years
away from delivering its first product. Investors were getting antsy or worse skeptical. Then
the pandemic hit and Moderna at first reluctantly became a central player in a global
drama?a David to Big Pharma's Goliaths?turning its technology toward breaking the global grip
of the terrible disease. By year's end with the virus raging Moderna delivered one of the
world's first Covid-19 vaccines with a stunningly high rate of protection. The achievement
gave the world a way out of a crippling pandemic while validating Moderna's technology
transforming the company into a global industry power. Biotech and the venture capital
community that fuels it will never be the same. Wall Street Journal reporter Peter Loftus
veteran reporter covering the pharmaceutical and biotech industries and part of a Pulitzer
Prize?finalist team brings the inside story of Moderna from its humble start at a casual
lunch through its heady startup days into the heart of the pandemic and beyond. With deep
access to all of the major players Loftus weaves a tale of science and business that brings to
life Moderna's monumental feat of creating a vaccine that beat back a deadly virus and changed
the business of medicine forever. The Messenger spans a decade and is full of heroic efforts by
ordinary people lucky breaks and life-and-death decisions. It's the story of a revolutionary
idea the evolution of a cutting-edge American industry and one of the great achievements of
this century.
