Six days after beginning their conversation, on January 31, Barouchs lab and Janssen had an agreement signed, sealed, and delivered. Once inside the cell, that piece of DNA codes for a specific piece of the pathogen that sparks the desired immune response. Before the meeting officially began, one of the presidents aides introduced Trump to Bancel, explaining that Moderna had the first vaccine ready for trial. Sign up for the Good Day BIO Newsletter >. And now, as Moderna awaits potential emergency use authorization by the FDA, Bennett said she is proud of what her team has accomplished. Haller wasnt worried. Corbett's academic biography notes " the vaccine concept incorporatedin mRNA-1273 was designed by Dr. Corbett's NIH team from viral sequence and rapidly deployed to industry partner, Moderna, Inc." 19 According to Dr.Corbett, an earlier partnershipwith Moderna focused on the MERS coronavirus helped acceleratetheSARS- -2 response. Since then, new evidence has emerged showing that Moderna did not name NIH scientists as co-inventors in three patent applications covering the composition of the spike protein sequence encoded by mRNA-1273. Stand up for innovation. SARS-CoV-2 is the third novel betacoronavirus in the last 20 years to cause substantial human disease; however, unlike . Haller picked up the phone and called her mother. Terms & Conditions. China Thats insane, Bennett replied, aware that the previous recordwhich she had setwas 10 months. After Bennett created the new shutter, he was able to take clear pictures of moving subjects. A major advantage of mRNA is that it is very easy to manufacture these RNA sequences once researchers know the sequence of the viral protein they want to target. [2] Bennett made his first stereoscopic photo in 1868, and they soon became very popular, being sold in cities across the United States. During dinner, the dings of incoming text messages punctuated his conversation. Photo via AP Photo/Ted S. Warren. Competing Interest Statement Unlike more traditional vaccines, which consist of weakened or inactivated forms of a virus, thus stimulating the body's immune response to create antibodies, a vaccine using mRNA sends a set of instructions into cells to teach them to make a protein, which will trigger an immune response inside our bodies to fight off the disease. Since then, Moderna has produced more than 300 million doses and has played a major role in curbing the pandemic. Safe and effective vaccines are now available, including Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine (mRNA-1273) that showed 94% efficacy in prevention of symptomatic COVID-19 disease in a phase 3 clinical study. Explore the webinar opportunities for interactive, online learning about emerging issues in biotechnology public policy, scientific progress, and raising capital, plus methods to benefit from BIOs membership services. Watch Best of BIO. Adam Glanzman/Bloomberg via Getty Images, FILE, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. We are going to need a vaccine for this, he wrote. Find contact's direct phone number, email address, work history, and more. Log In. Later that evening, he was standing in his kitchen when his phone dinged again. He texted with Afeyan and emailed with Bennett, expressing his fears that volunteers might not want to go to the hospital to participate if it got bad enough in Seattle. Watch Best of BIO. Although the emergence of COVID-19 was first publicly reported in late December 2019, there was still very little known about the viral outbreak. bio for Hamilton Bennett agency, manager, speaker fees, speaking agency entertainment booking agency, speaker's fee, how to book, booking agencies for lectures, speaking event, celebrity appearances for hire, who is agent, manager, publicist, who represents, speakers bureau management who represents Hamilton Bennett. He has spent most of his career seeking one for HIV and has worked on one for Ebola, too. The next day, Bancel dialed into the meeting with the executive leaders, who were crowded around a conference table at Modernas headquarters with Bennett and the members of her team that had been tirelessly working on what up until that point essentially amounted to a demonstration project. Similar debates were taking place among many of the world's top pharmaceutical firms, according to Bennett, who described a late-January industry conference call about emerging infectious diseases where several top echelon executives had expressed concerns about the risks of joining the global efforts. Find contacts: direct phone number, email address, work experience. Our tools and initiatives on workforce development, diversity and inclusion are designed to advance a more globally competitive industry. As they ironed out the details of their partnership, public health officials delivered sobering news to the American public: Illinois had logged the United States first recorded case of community transmission. or To Bancel, meanwhile, the sheer act of debating whether to move forward struck him as absurd in light of what he was learning at Davos. vaccine. Hamilton Bennett, the senior director of vaccine access and partnerships at Moderna, did not anticipate that her team's years of work would soon be thrust into the global spotlight when Moderna became the first American company to jump into the race to a coronavirus vaccine. Drug Development & Review . Three days. The virus doesnt knock off at 6 p.m. for that matter, so team members agreed to organize themselves in shifts so someone would always be driving production forward, all day, every day. Not so long ago, one of Modernas products was left outside of cold storage once it was no longer in the companys hands, and the entire load had to be tossed in the trash. The NIHs confidence stemmed from Modernas early-stage human trial data from 2019. Okay, Bennett said under her breath, her microphone on mute. At Moderna, we believe messenger RNA, or mRNA, is the "software of life. Finally, Bennett photographed the huge circular paintings known as cycloramas, publishing sets of stereoviews on the Civil War cycloramas of the Battles of Shiloh, Gettysburg and Missionary Ridge, the engagement between the Monitor and the Virginia, as well as the Crucifixion. On the radio, the news was wall-to-wall coronavirus. The biotech business is not easy. He put on the kettle and fired up his iPad. View Hamilton Bennett's email address: [email protected] & phone: +1-323-xxx-xx74's profile as Senior Director, Vaccine Access and Partnerships at Moderna, located in Malden, Massachusetts. The same day, the sober-faced director-general of the World Health Organization faced the media and uttered the words no one wanted to hear: COVID-19 was officially a global pandemic. In the midst of much uncertainty and chaos, Bennett, has emerged as one of the unsung heroes of the pandemic, working feverishly and tirelessly behind the scenes throughout the year to help engineer a vaccine that could potentially save millions of lives. Opportunities for women, Black and other minority populations in the growing Bio-economy. If ultimately proven successful in large-scale human trials, mRNA vaccines would herald nothing short of a revolution akin to the advent of the steam engine when it comes to preventing infectious disease. Stand up for truth. Usually partnerships between academic labs and pharma take months to negotiate. If you're a scraper, please click the link below :-) Bringing you daily news at the intersection of biotechnology, politics, patients & the planet. Henry Hamilton Bennett (January 15, 1843 January 1, 1908) was an American photographer famous for his pictures of the Dells of the Wisconsin River and surrounding region taken between 1865 and 1908. On February 7, the chief of technical operations and quality, industry veteran Juan Andres, went to the cafeteria at the Norwood plant for lunch. Someone less prone to paranoia finally talked them off the ledge, and Bancel settled on planting a GPS chip in the package so Moderna could track its golden goose the entire way. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. By the weekend of January 25, just days after Moderna decided to go full steam ahead, he was convinced the world was going to need a vaccine for this virus. "I think I emailed my team every six hours, Saturday, Sunday saying, 'Have you designed the vaccine sequence yet?'" Scientist Xinhua Yan works in the lab at Moderna in Cambridge, MA, Feb. 28, 2020. When Haller arrived at the Kaiser building, she pulled into the garage and walked into the clinic, where she learned she would be the very first person in the world to receive the injection. News of the first U.S. death and the spread of the coronavirus in Seattle were also on Bancels mind, but for slightly different reasons. Days later, once she found out shed been selected, several friends tried to dissuade her. In other words, she was in a position to help, and felt compelled to do so. Moderna's phase 1 study had been initially expected to begin in late April, but acknowledging the urgency of the situation, Bennett's team pushed the timeline forward. In his world, a global pandemic was about to descend like a biblical plague, and whatever distractions the vaccine caused internally at Moderna were irrelevant. Bancel says he might be ready to submit for FDA approval for the vaccine by years end. At the time, 35-year-old Hamilton Bennett, the senior director of vaccine access and partnerships at Moderna, a small, then-relatively unknown biotech company based in Cambridge,. If so, Modernas race for the vaccine would play out under a million-watt global spotlight. Learn about our mission, vision, values and priorities, Find out about BIO's programs & initiatives, Meet BIO's Senior Leadership and Board of Directors, Get to know the outstanding people and companies BIO supports. Back at the plant the next day, the team prepared the vials for shipping. She felt as though there was nothing she could do. Now came the agonizing waiting game. "The world was looking at us because we had started the first study in the U.S. We had done it faster than anyone before had ever done it. Upstairs, her kids were still asleep when she slid into her car and drove downtown. "Every cell in the body uses mRNA to provide real-time instructions to make the proteins necessary to drive all aspects of biology, including in human health and disease.Given its essential role, we believe mRNA could be used to create a new category of medicines with significant potential to improve the lives of patients.We are pioneering a new class of medicines made of messenger RNA, or mRNA. "Every cell in the body uses mRNA to provide real-time instructions to make the proteins necessary to drive all aspects of biology, includ Hamilton Bennett's role at Moderna is Senior Director, Vaccine Access and Partnerships. They spent several hours on the phone that day, and by the time Monday rolled around they had agreed to join forces once again, capitalizing on Barouchs ability to design a vaccine and carry out preclinical work in the lab, and Janssens manufacturing capabilities and sheer muscle as a major pharma company. Bennett received much attention for his advanced techniques, and was commissioned by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad to photograph the landscape along the company's track in Wisconsin. But I also know that shit happens. So as upbeat as he felt about Modernas efforts to build a vaccine, he was gripped with fear every day of the manufacturing process that something would go wrong. Each time, he stole a glance at his phone to see if it was the only message he cared about: the results. Previously, it took several minutes for a camera to take a picture, and any movement of the subject being photographed over this time caused the picture to become blurry. But Im doing it anyway., Her husband already sensed that no one was going to stop her. Vaccines & Biodefense. Antimicrobial Resistance. He was heading toward the snow-cloaked Alps for the World Economic Forum at the Davos ski resort, where corporate leaders meet each year in a shared desire to save the world through capitalism. He needs to just stop until we know whats going on. Hallers mother agreed, but it did little to alleviate Hallers sense of helplessness. 36. The news sent Modernas stock price so high that Bancel became a billionaire overnight. The culprit was a mystery. And he knew just whom to call. The company would either celebrate one hell of public market debut, or fail while the whole world watched. Barouch had worked in the past with Janssen, the pharmaceutical arm of Johnson & Johnson. Hamilton Bennett, the senior director of vaccine access and partnerships at Moderna, did not anticipate that her team's years of work would soon be thrust into the global spotlight when Moderna became the first American company to jump into the race to a coronavirus vaccine. Brooke Bollman, 1 Naveen Nunna, 1 Kapil Bahl, 1 Chiaowen Joyce Hsiao, 1 Hamilton Bennett, 1 Scott Butler, 2 Bryant Foreman, 3 Katherine E. Burgomaster, 3 Maya Aleshnick, 3 Wing-Pui Kong, 4 Brian E. Fisher, 4 Tracy J. Ruckwardt, 4 Kaitlyn M. Morabito, 4 Barney S. Graham, 4 Kimberly A. Dowd, 3 Theodore C . All Rights Reserved. Bancel fixed himself a cup of black tea and took a seat at the counter to kick off his early-morning ritual with the Wall Street Journal. During the small hours of a cold January morning, Stphane Bancel slipped into the kitchen while his wife and children were still in bed. They had already made history. When data from the first phases of Moderna's clinical trial revealed the vaccine candidate had generated a protective immune response, it was a "sigh of relief" from the team -- but there was "no time to appreciate it," Bennett said. After launching successful phase 2 and 3 trials, Moderna reported an efficacy rate of 94.1%. Hamilton Bennett's research while affiliated with Moderna and other places Overview What is this page? Since early January, this Cambridge biotech has been chasing a vaccine and breaking records for speed. Hamilton Bennett, the senior director of vaccine access and partnerships at Moderna, did not anticipate that her team's years of work would soon be thrust into the global spotlight when Moderna became the first American company to jump into the race to a coronavirus vaccine. Later that afternoon, the batch was finished. Due to the low demand for portraits in the area, Bennett set his sights on landscape photography. "We've come a long way in 12 months," Bennett told ABC News in an exclusive interview for "The Shot: Race for the Vaccine," a one-hour special edition of "20/20.". That was in January 2020, just a month after the first reports of a mysterious new lung illness in China. The news only strengthened Hallers resolve to participate in Modernas trials. Bringing you daily news at the intersection of biotechnology, politics, patients & the planet. Bancel made sure the ringer on his phone was on before he left the office and made his way across the Longfellow Bridge to his home on Beacon Hill. Copyright 2023 All American Speakers Bureau. Hamilton Bennett and her team got it done in months. On an industry conference call about emerging infectious diseases on January 29, Bennett listened in as representatives from major pharmaceutical companies hedged and dodged. I was so focused on the program, and I would leave the office at 10 o'clock at night. Seven days a week, she stayed late at the office before driving home to Malden, where her husband had long ago gone to sleep. Hamilton Bennett Senior Director, Vaccine Access and Partnerships at Moderna Malden, Massachusetts, United States 1K followers 500+ connections Join to view profile Moderna Activity Have you. Moderna says its mRNA Access program could help with the next pandemic - Drug Discovery . Our tools and initiatives on workforce development, diversity and inclusion are designed to advance a more globally competitive industry. Join BIO as we champion for bringing new treatments to patients with serious medical conditions and to support policies that promote innovation and improve patient access. "I think what we've done is show the world that it's OK to be bold and to stand up and say, 'We can do this,'" said Bennett, adding that it will likely be months before she will be able to fully appreciate her team's hard work. In addition, what if a vaccine wasnt needed? For one thing, because mRNA vaccines dont contain a pathogen, they are thought to be safer than traditional vaccines. Note that clicking the link below will block access to this site for 24 hours. Several days later, on a moonlit Friday night, Bancel wheeled his suitcase into Terminal D at Logan Airport and checked into a red-eye bound for Zurich. They are also relatively easy to scale and produceyou can design any mRNA vaccine in the world on a computer and manufacture it in a single facility regardless of what disease it is for. Health officials warned that it was just the tip of the iceberg. Hamilton Bennett works in the Research industry. The clock was officially ticking. When he reached the head of the queue and placed his order, the line cook asked a question as he heaped a scoop of chicken salad onto Andress sandwich. In the midst of much uncertainty and chaos, Bennett, has emerged as one of the unsung heroes of the pandemic, working feverishly and tirelessly behind the scenes throughout the year to help engineer a vaccine that could potentially save millions of lives. Human Health. And if we don't do it, maybe no one else will," Bennett said, while recalling her reasoning at the time. Hamilton Bennett, the senior director of vaccine access and partnerships at Moderna, did not anticipate that her team's years of work would soon be thrust into the global spotlight when Moderna became the first American company to jump into the race to a coronavirus vaccine. Just about the last place he needs to be is in a fast-food restaurant in Kirkland, she told her mom. When data from the first phases of Moderna's clinical trial revealed the vaccine candidate had generated a protective immune response, it was a "sigh of relief" from the team -- but there was "no time to appreciate it," Bennett said. Shouldnt we talk about this? her husband asked when she told him that night that shed signed up. During a meeting one morning, an engineer suggested that the virus doesnt take weekends, so we cant either. Weekends were officially canceled. She signed away. In the current and next generation of black scientists and entrepreneurs. During the meeting, Bancel explained to Trump that he was waiting for FDA approval for the study and that Moderna would soon be testing the vaccine in humans. The team would be well into the next step before it even knew if results from the previous step indicated they were on the right path. But it was his work during the 2016 Zika outbreak that rocketed him to broader fame after he produced an investigational vaccine in a then-unheard-of 180 days. There is no gray area; it is either 100 percent sterile or you are done, he says. She might not be on the frontline, but she at least wanted to be on the battlefield. However, very little is known about the 35-year-old executive who has been spearheading the race to make Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine widely available. Whats more, Barouch was confident his platform was the best one to deliver it. Bennett considered the project a moral imperative even though success was far from guaranteed and the still-young biotech firm had yet to get a single product to market. All American Speakers Bureau is a full-service talent booking agency providing information on booking Hamilton Bennett for speaking engagements, personal appearances and corporate events. Title. Less than a year ago, little was known about the mysterious virus that was sickening dozens in China and spreading rapidly unbeknownst to people across the globe. As portable film cameras became widespread in the 1890s, Bennett's career declined somewhat because tourists coming to see the Dells were able to take their own souvenir photos and no longer needed Bennett's postcards or portraits. All rights reserved. The batch was sterileit had passed the test. Almost twenty years later, hes still baby faced and his hair is still jet black, though hes no longer always the youngest guy in the room. It was as if overnight, Moderna had been bumped up to the adults table and it was Christmas dinner. Call us to speak with a booking agent to discuss your event or specific speaker request. Upon learning that Moderna's vaccine had shown an efficacy rate of more than 94 percent, Bennett started to cry. "I'll have a moment to step back and think about what I've done and what our team has done and what our company has done.". Across the Charles in Boston, there was one scientist who thought Big Pharma should get on boardand he had a feeling he could make it happen. Less than a year ago, little was known about the mysterious virus that was sickening dozens in I believe in science and the possibility of great teams coming together to do things that were thought to be impossible, he says. Bennett had just entered the estimated 120-day timetable into her project-management software and advised the NIH of the schedule when manufacturing came back and said they could do it even faster. But it wasnt until a few days later, as the deaths in Kirkland mounted, that Haller began to really worry about her 85-year-old stepdad. It was a gamble. "The world was looking at us because we had started the first study in the U.S. We had done it faster than anyone before had ever done it. On February 6, Bennett had just left work when her car broke down. Sign up for the Good Day BIO Newsletter >. He built himself a portable darkroom, and then towed it, his camera, and other necessary equipment with him across the local countryside taking pictures. Bennett also took pictures outside the state, photographing an ice palace in St. Paul, Minnesota and the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois. Bancel, of course, hopes that Modernas vaccine works, but he doesnt want to be alone in the winners circle. This is a great opportunity to go mano a mano with Moderna, he told a reporter from Science magazine. Normally, he would never take a call at a moment like that, but Bancel usually only communicated with him through textsunless, that is, the matter was urgent. Still, that was no guarantee hed get a response on a Saturday from a pharma exec. Next, a pharmacist readied the injection. Can you make any sense of the viral outbreak going on in China? Bancel pecked out on his tablet. Time was of the essence. The promising news not only shot Modernas share price higher, but sent the entire stock market soaring by more than 900 points. We don't have to grow a virus and then extract proteins from it, your body becomes its own little bio factory and creates the vaccine for you." mRNA-1273 encodes for a prefusion . Her research and development experience and laser-like focus on COVID helped Moderna get its vaccine into early clinical trials within two monthsand receive FDA emergency use authorization by. But on the sidelines, far from the spotlight of the main stage, much of the chatter was about the virus spreading through China. Hamilton Bennett, Senior Director of Vaccine Access and Partnerships at Moderna, works on the company's COVID-19 vaccine from home. The day CEPI announced it was funding Modernas Phase 1 trial, it also announced it would fund a University of Queensland lab and Pennsylvania-based Inovio Pharmaceuticals. The model turned Hong Kong film actress lives in Singapore. His room was cold and tiny, consisting of little more than a single bed that evoked his childhood bedroom in France, a tiny desk, and an extra heater he had requested from reception. Aside from shipping, the sterility test was Bancels biggest worry. Moderna already had a template to work from, having spent several years designing experimental mRNA vaccines for the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and the Zika virus. At least initially, Bennett didnt know how long it would take Moderna to make its first COVID-19 vaccine. In January, with exponential growth in infection rates in the city of Wuhan, China, and increasing evidence of high community transmission, Moderna's leadership acknowledged that the outbreak was a serious threat and asked Bennett to begin working on a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as the new virus's genome sequence was obtained.
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