Moderna co-founder Robert Langer to step down from vaccine maker's board

(Reuters) - Robert Langer, co-founder and a key figure behind Moderna's scientific success, will step down from the vaccine maker's board on Aug. 5, the company said on Tuesday.

WHY IT MATTERS

Langer played a crucial role in the development of Moderna's messenger RNA COVID vaccine, which is the biotech's only commercial product.

Moderna said it expects to focus recruitment efforts on individuals with scientific and innovation experience.

CONTEXT

Langer is one of the nine Institute Professors - the highest honor awarded to a faculty member - at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was the chairman of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is considered the most cited academician in history.

He heads the Langer Laboratory that focuses on studying the delivery and mechanism of drugs based on genetically engineered proteins, DNA and RNA.

Additionally, Moderna said director Stephen Berenson, who has been on the board since 2017, will also step down. David Rubenstein, co-founder and co-chairman of the Carlyle Group, will replace him.

KEY QUOTES

"After many years of service as a co-founder and member of Moderna's Board of Directors, I have decided that now is the right time for me to step down," Langer said.

"As one of Moderna's co-founders, Bob (Robert) is one of the visionaries responsible for making mRNA medicines a reality, and his insights have enabled the company to positively impact hundreds of millions of lives," Moderna's chairman and co-founder Noubar Afeyan said.

(Reporting by Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)