moderna is pioneering messenger rna therapeutics™, an entirely new in vivo drug modality that produces human proteins or antibodies inside patient cells, which are in turn active intracellularly or secreted. this breakthrough platform addresses currently undruggable targets, and offers a superior alternative to existing drug modalities for a wide range of disease conditions. moderna has developed a broad intellectual property estate including more than 200 patent applications with more than 10,000 claims ranging from novel nucleotide chemistries to specific drug compositions. the company plans to develop and commercialize its innovative mrna drugs—initially for rare diseases and oncology—while partnering drug candidates in other therapeutics areas in order to rapidly deliver this innovation to patients. based in cambridge, massachusetts, moderna is privately held and was founded in 2010 by flagship venturelabs in association with leading scientists from boston children’s hospital a