Dr. Elizabeth Nabel Joins Moderna Therapeutics’ Board of Directors

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., December 15, 2015 — Moderna Therapeutics, a pioneer in the development of messenger RNA (mRNA) Therapeutics (TM), announced today that Elizabeth (Betsy) Nabel, M.D., President of Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Health Care (BWHC) has been appointed to the company's Board of Directors.

Dr. Nabel is a distinguished cardiologist and biomedical researcher and a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Since assuming the helm of BWHC in 2010, she has helped advance a new model of medicine for the institution by strategically focusing on innovation in healthcare, research and discovery, and in personalized and precision medicine. Among the many initiatives she has pioneered, under her guidance and oversight, BWHC launched a new translational research and clinical facility and a $1 billion campaign to advance healthcare innovation. Dr. Nabel is also the inaugural Chief Health and Medical Advisor to the National Football League (NFL), where she provides strategic input on the NFL's ongoing medical, health and scientific efforts.

"We are thrilled and honored to have Dr. Nabel join Moderna's Board of Directors. At this critical phase of the company's evolution, as Moderna expands its clinical development pipeline, Betsy will bring critical insights from her extensive experience as a renowned clinician, researcher and global healthcare leader," said Noubar Afeyan, Ph.D., co-founder and Chairman, Moderna Therapeutics, and Managing Partner and CEO, Flagship Ventures.

"Betsy's pioneering expertise in translational research is well-aligned with our rapid progress of our mRNA therapeutics from scientific concept to real-world medical solutions for a broad spectrum of diseases and unmet patient needs," said Stephane Bancel, Moderna's Chief Executive Officer. "As we advance toward 2016, a year that will hold new, clinical milestones for our company, we look forward to leveraging Betsy's many contributions."

Dr. Nabel previously served as the Director of the National Institute of Health's National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) where she leveraged the $3 billion research portfolio to establish pioneering scientific programs in genomics, stem cells and translational research. One of Dr. Nabel's signature advocacy efforts was the Red Dress Heart Truth campaign, which raises heart awareness in women through unprecedented industry partnerships. A long-time champion for global health, while at NHLBI, Dr. Nabel established Centers of Excellence in developing countries to combat cardiovascular and lung diseases. At BWHC she helped create a national teaching hospital in Haiti and is advancing training for clinicians in under-resourced countries. An accomplished physician-scientist, Dr. Nabel's work on the molecular genetics of cardiovascular diseases has yielded 17 patents and resulted in more than 250 scientific publications. Among a series of career-spanning accolades, Dr. Nabel has been elected to the American Academy of the Arts and Sciences, The National Academy of Medicine, the Association of American Physicians and the American Society of Clinical Investigation. She is also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

"I am honored to join this distinguished Board of Directors at this exciting time," said Dr. Nabel. "There is great potential for mRNA therapeutics to transform the future of medicine and expand the boundaries of science to improve the lives of patients."