Moderna Hires Harvard Stem Cell Researcher Jonathan Hoggatt as Director of Hematology: What You Need to Know

Moderna, Inc. MRNA, which shot to prominence with its coronavirus vaccine program, is beefing up its research and development team.

What Happened: Jonathan Hoggatt, who was a principal faculty member at Harvard Stem Cell Institute, has joined Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Moderna as director of hematology, according to a Twitter post by the researcher.

Happy to announce that I have joined @moderna_tx as the new Director of Hematology. Will be forming a team and working to make new therapies for hematology patients in need. Bittersweet to leave academia and my lab, but excited about the platform and potential to help patients.

— Jonathan Hoggatt (@jghoggatt) March 4, 2021

He served as assistant professor at the Harvard Medical School's Hoggatt Lab, which works on tissue regeneration and stem cell biology, with a particular focus on translational research to enhance bone marrow transplantation.

Hoggatt has a master's degree in biology and a doctoral degree in hematology, and pursued a post-doctoral program in stem cell biology, his LinkedIn profile revealed.

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Why It's Important: After the resounding success with its coronavirus vaccine program, it's logical Moderna now turns its attention toward other programs.

The company has a rich pipeline, comprising investigational prophylactic vaccines against infectious diseases, secreted and cell therapeutic candidates, cancer vaccine candidates, regenerative therapeutic candidates and immuno-oncology candidates.

The immuno-oncology pipeline consists of two candidates, namely mRNA-2416 for lymphoma and a triplet candidate, codenamed mRNA-2752, both aimed at treating lymphoma and solid tumors.

The new appointment may be signaling Moderna's intent to focus on these candidates in a big way.

MRNA Price Action: In premarket trading Friday, Moderna shares were slipping 1.36% to $130.50.

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(Moderna's Cambridge, Massachusetts offices; photo by Fletcher via Wikimedia Commons)