It had been 42 days since they designed the vaccine. And if we don't do it, maybe no one else will," Bennett said, while recalling her reasoning at the time. "Every day we just accelerated that timeline faster and faster. A few days later, Haller was at her desk for the tech firm where she works in Seattle, taking a break and catching up with her Facebook feed, when she saw a post that Kaiser was searching for volunteers. It took 14 days, and there was no way to shave any time off that one. 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." Days later, once she found out shed been selected, several friends tried to dissuade her. This happened so many times that she eventually ditched the software altogether. Clearly, this is coming, and it's coming to the states.'". SARS-CoV-2 is the third novel betacoronavirus in the last 20 years to cause substantial human disease; however, unlike . Bancel forwarded Graham's email to Hamilton Bennett, an energetic and idealistic 35-year-old who'd spent the previous three years as program leader on Moderna's vaccine portfolio. Later that afternoon, the batch was finished. Next, a pharmacist readied the injection. Ultimately, the committee agreed to go for it. Just two days after the first complete genome of the virus was mapped and publicly posted online in early January, Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine candidate, mRNA-1273, was finalized. An Associated Press news crew was there to film the historic event, and it hit her how important this moment was, for everyone. No one, not even Bennett, knew just how fast the company could deliver this vaccine, but she wanted to find out. Hamilton Bennett, Senior Director of Vaccine Access and Partnerships at Moderna, works on the company's COVID-19 vaccine from home. At the time, Afeyan was sitting at a marble-topped table at Pammys in Cambridge celebrating his daughters birthday. As people across the country saw more and more of Bennett's photographs of the Wisconsin Dells, they began to flock to Kilbourn City to see the rock formations in person. Andreswho was expecting something more along the lines of, Do you want lettuce and tomato on that?was taken aback. 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. . Later that day, Bancels phone pinged with an email from Graham at the NIH. "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. Contact an All American Speakers Bureau booking agent for more information on Hamilton Bennett speaking fees, availability, speech topics and cost to hire for your next live or virtual event. Seven days a week, she stayed late at the office before driving home to Malden, where her husband had long ago gone to sleep. Sign up for the Good Day BIO Newsletter >. Time was of the essence. You cannot fix an unsterile productyou just put it in the garbage and start again from scratch.. At 8:30 a.m. one morning during the early days of the project, a member of her team delivered the estimated timeline: 120 days. Drug Development & Review . He knew that if Seattle became too much of a hot spot, it could upend the trial in many ways. After the outbreak of the American Civil War, Bennett joined the 12th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment and fought in the Battle of Vicksburg before being severely wounded by the accidental discharge of his own gun. If you're a human and see this, please ignore it. Bancel, of course, hopes that Modernas vaccine works, but he doesnt want to be alone in the winners circle. Meanwhile, as Chinese officials assured the world that the outbreak wouldnt be as bad as SARS, a 2003 coronavirus that sickened 8,100 people and killed 774, Bancel was hearing a far darker version of the future. Copyright 2023 All American Speakers Bureau. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. On March 11, Italy closed for business. Bennett described. "We believe that our platform is going to make a difference, and we believe that we're uniquely capable of responding to this pandemic. 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. Offers may be subject to change without notice. The company had also been working for years in conjunction with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on bringing a new class of vaccines to market. It almost felt like the world around us was shifting, but for those of us on the program, our entire world was the program," Bennett said. Being crowned Miss Asia Pageant 1997 effectively launched her career in the fashion and entertainment industry. As the days and nights ground on, the intensity and relentless rhythm of the work started to wear on Bennett. Big Pharma had officially joined the race. 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, Massachusetts, 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. Some said it would divert resources from thriving areas of research and reprioritize other lucrative programs, while betting on a yet unproven vaccine technology. A pharmacist gives Jennifer Haller, left, the first shot in the first-stage safety study clinical trial of a potential vaccine for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, Monday, March 16, 2020, at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle. All rights reserved. That evening, when Bancel returned to his hotel in the famous but aged ski resort, his mind was reeling from what he had heard and seen. Haller wasnt fazed. "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. They wanted to see how it would play out. Haller felt a small prick in her left arm, followed by the sensation of the syringes cool liquid contents slipping into her biceps, and the rising satisfaction of knowing that she had finally found a way to do something. The victim was a resident of a long-term-care facility in Kirkland, a suburb of Seattle that borders Kenmore, the town where Hallers mom and stepfather live. 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. It was 7 p.m. on a Friday, and the streets below in Kendall Square had already emptied out for the weekend when Graham asked Bennett if Moderna would be interested in using the new virus to test the companys accelerated vaccine-making capabilities. Early Monday morning, Modernas scientists went to work on a COVID-19 vaccine. Whats more, Barouch was confident his platform was the best one to deliver it. "We realized that [SARS-CoV-2] was our prototype and that this was a live run that we were moving through." Strengthening the Bioeconomy. Aside from shipping, the sterility test was Bancels biggest worry. 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. 1201 New York Avenue NW, Suite 1300, Washington, DC, 20005 202-962-9200, BIO Intellectual Property Counsels Committee Conference. In 1857, at the age of 14, Bennett moved with his father and uncle to Wisconsin. 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. "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.". Moderna was perfectly poised to respond and had an obligation to do so, she said. In a decision that has been controversial in some corners of the scientific community, the FDA allowed Moderna, based on prior animal data, to try its vaccine on humans without complete animal trials. Moderna may have been one of the first biotechs out of the gate in hot pursuit of a COVID-19 vaccine, but it soon had company. By May, though, Moderna had pulled back into the lead when its Phase 2 trials were approved to start sooner than expected. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, VACCINE ACCESS AND PARTNERSHIPS, MODERNA THERAPEUTICS, INC Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States Hamilton Bennett (she/her) is the Senior Director of Vaccine Access and Partnerships at Moderna, a company pioneering messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines. To learn more, visit www.modernatx.com.This Moderna page is not the appropriate place to report adverse events (side-effects) for any products. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. It can take from 10 to 15 years to develop a new vaccine. Upstairs, her kids were still asleep when she slid into her car and drove downtown. Hamilton Bennett and her team got it done in months . One executive mentioned that several biotechs were chasing the vaccine. Soon after, the U.S. government announced it was funding Moderna with nearly half a billion dollars. We encourage you to report any side effects directly to us at 1866MODERNA (18666633762). Can you get it done?. Pharma companies had gotten left holding the bag during other novel viral epidemics, investing heavily to develop vaccines only to watch as the disease fizzled out on its own. At one point, they started having a fantastical discussion about using some combination of high-end cold-chain logistics combined with Brinks-style security. 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. 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. Although the emergence of COVID-19 was first publicly reported in late December 2019, there was still very little known about the viral outbreak. We need to talk., Within an hour, Barouch had his reply. Addressing Climate Change. Can you make any sense of the viral outbreak going on in China? Bancel pecked out on his tablet. Soon, other decisions were made in the name of speed. Haller picked up the phone and called her mother. New report details alarming health impact of climate change on children, MORE: 5 things to know about COVID-19 , MORE: Amid darkest days of coronavirus pandemic, historic vaccine effort enters final stage, MORE: The 35-year-old scientist who led Moderna's efforts to create a COVID-19 vaccine. When Bennett heard the good news on a conference call with her colleagues, she said, "I think most of us on the call just sort of shut off and maybe blacked out for a little bit.". On May 18, Moderna took a giant step forward and extended its margin, appearing on the front pages from New York to Hong Kong after announcing some of its study volunteers had tested positive for antibodies, with levels higher than people who actually had COVID-19. 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, Massachusetts, 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 Addressing Climate Change. Chemicals sit inside a refrigerator at the Moderna Therapeutics Inc. lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Nov. 14, 2017. Facing down a pandemic the likes of which the world hadnt seen in a century, Bennett, senior director of vaccine access and partnerships at Moderna, was tasked with developing a COVID vaccine even before the viruss genome had been sequenced. Bennett, a self-described "public-health nerd" with a master's degree in environmental microbiology, had sought a job at the company after hearing it was working on mRNA-based vaccines for new. If they werent, their time, effort, and resources would be wasted, and theyd have to backtrack and start over. Bringing you daily news at the intersection of biotechnology, politics, patients & the planet. Back in the lab, Bennetts team began transforming the test project into a full-blown vaccine program, while Bancel continued to do what he does bestbuild partnerships, generate excitement, and secure funding. The news only strengthened Hallers resolve to participate in Modernas trials. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice| Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information| Ad Choices Bennett loaded a boat with his photographic equipment and took many pictures of the Dells. Contact an All American Speakers Bureau booking agent. S&P Index data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. Sure. Bancel was nervous. This new type of a vaccine relied on a highly innovative and experimental technology, using messenger RNA (mRNA), described informally by Moderna as the "software of life.". Despite the risks, Bennett said she felt very strongly that it was the company's moral and social obligation to develop the vaccine and, thus, advocated to push the company to take the gamble. On January 23, Moderna and CEPI went public with the newsbut Bancels attention was focused on the information coming out of Wuhan that day. Stand up for truth. Health officials warned that it was just the tip of the iceberg. It had left her stranded a few times since the project began (exactly how often was another metric that the consummate planner was tracking on her whiteboard). Senior Director, Vaccine Access and Partnerships. The cat is out of the bag, he thought. 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. Ave. to take the call. Just two months later, Moderna began its NIH-led phase 1 study. Sign up for the Good Day BIO Newsletter >. It was as if overnight, Moderna had been bumped up to the adults table and it was Christmas dinner. China Interesting perspective from Hamilton Bennett, Moderna's senior director, vaccine access and partnerships. Bancel forwarded Grahams email to Hamilton Bennett, an energetic and idealistic 35-year-old whod spent the previous three years as program leader on Modernas vaccine portfolio. Now, his company had embarked on a timed trial that was doubling as the governments vaccine response to a global pandemic, and Bancel was not going to let something as trivial as a shipping error derail them. In fact, that data was so encouraging that Bancel was set to announce in a few days time that the company would be doubling down on its vaccine-development program in 2020, with hopes of getting the worlds first mRNA vaccineand what would be Modernas first licensed productonto the market in the next few years. If so, Modernas race for the vaccine would play out under a million-watt global spotlight. 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. As he followed the news out of China, though, he felt a rising sense of urgency. 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. The likely suspects had been ruled out. The company would either celebrate one hell of public market debut, or fail while the whole world watched. Will it be the first across the finish line? 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. 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. The plan worked. As he brainstormed options with Andressomeone Bancel affectionately calls as paranoid as he istheir solutions quickly spun out of hand. Despite the risks, Bennett said she felt very strongly that it was the company's moral and social obligation to develop the vaccine and, thus, advocated to push the company to take the gamble. 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. My hope for the world is that many of us get to the finish line, so we can stop this thing, Bancel says. Stand up for truth. He had two vulnerabilities: asthma and a particular fondness for Mexican fast food. Hamilton Bennett - BIO International Convention | BIO Speaker Hamilton Bennett ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, VACCINE ACCESS AND PARTNERSHIPS, MODERNA Speaking In 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Tuesday, June 6 Vaccine manufacturing in Africa: Challenges and opportunities The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for more geographic diversity in the production