However, when the severity of the pandemic became evident, "knowing what mRNA could do, having confidence in our platform, we thought, how do we show the global public health community what mRNA can do in a pandemic?" The company would either celebrate one hell of public market debut, or fail while the whole world watched. Our tools and initiatives on workforce development, diversity and inclusion are designed to advance a more globally competitive industry. Bancel was nervous. Opportunities for women, Black and other minority populations in the growing Bio-economy. "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.". Bennett was born in Farnham, Quebec and raised in Brattleboro, Vermont. Moderna is continuously monitoring the safety of its products. . 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. The team was able to quickly identify the spike protein and understand how to engineer and stabilize it to induce a strong immune response, and when Bennett's team and the researchers at the NIH saw they had designed the same sequence independently, they felt confident in their findings. Hamilton Bennett and her team got it done in months . However, the decision that Moderna was confronted with in early January -- of whether to try to develop a vaccine against the rapidly spreading novel coronavirus -- was a risk, directing valuable resources toward a viral threat that we didn't yet know would blossom into a full-blown pandemic. Although the emergence of COVID-19 was first publicly reported in late December 2019, there was still very little known about the viral outbreak. On March 23, Governor Charlie Baker stood before a crush of reporters and made it official: All nonessential businesses were ordered to close their doors and all residents of Massachusetts were instructed to stay at home and isolate from one another. They had already made history. Bennett described. Powered and implemented by Interactive Data Managed Solutions. Hamilton Bennett and her team got it done in months. Since time was of the essence, Moderna decided to do all of the steps simultaneously. Company. 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. As soon as she walked into her house, though, she dropped her bag on the floor and fell into a puddle of tears. He had two vulnerabilities: asthma and a particular fondness for Mexican fast food. Interesting perspective from Hamilton Bennett, Moderna's senior director, vaccine access and partnerships. Afeyan apologized to his daughter, quickly rose from the table, and without putting on his coat walked out of the restaurant and onto Mass. The United States has yet to approve a vaccine made this way, though large-scale human trials are under way. 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. As he brainstormed options with Andressomeone Bancel affectionately calls as paranoid as he istheir solutions quickly spun out of hand. All rights reserved. June 5-8, 2023 | Boston, MA Upon learning that Moderna's vaccine had shown an efficacy rate of more than 94 percent, Bennett started to cry. He needs to just stop until we know whats going on. Hallers mother agreed, but it did little to alleviate Hallers sense of helplessness. After launching successful phase 2 and 3 trials, Moderna reported an efficacy rate of 94.1%. 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. This is a great opportunity to go mano a mano with Moderna, he told a reporter from Science magazine. 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,. Time was of the essence. As he made his way past security and into the West Wing, Bancel, who still thought of himself as a middle-class kid from the south of France despite having amassed a fortune after Modernas record-breaking 2018 IPO, felt humbled by the invitation. He knew that if Seattle became too much of a hot spot, it could upend the trial in many ways. Seven days a week, she stayed late at the office before driving home to Malden, where her husband had long ago gone to sleep. "We will be kicking off our participation at The World Vaccine Congress in Washington DC with the following sessions: - Hamilton Bennett, our Senior Director of Vaccine Access & Partnerships, will be presenting on 'The role of vaccines in preventing outbreaks, through natural" 2023 Fortune Media IP Limited. Stand up for innovation. [4] Federal scientists are only acknowledged as co-inventors for one patent application covering a method of use for mRNA-1273. Nothing, however, produced a more acute case of agita for Bancel than the topic of how to ship the vaccine to the NIH when it was finished. Hamilton Bennett's HQ phone number is +1 617-714-6500. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Health officials warned that it was just the tip of the iceberg. That very day, after Bancel left the White House to head back to Boston, the FDA sent word that they were approving the trial. Stand up for innovation. 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. I would come back by 7 a.m. 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. 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. [2] His training as a carpenter served him well. [3] After the war, the wound prevented Bennett from returning to carpentry, so in 1865 he bought the Kilbourn City photography studio operated by Leroy Gates and began a career as a photographer. He built himself a portable darkroom, and then towed it, his camera, and other necessary equipment with him across the local countryside taking pictures. 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. 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. She needed to sign off on some final risksincluding the fact that the vaccine had not gone through a complete round of animal testingbefore proceeding. 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. Once inside the cell, that piece of DNA codes for a specific piece of the pathogen that sparks the desired immune response. 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.". 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. Just about the last place he needs to be is in a fast-food restaurant in Kirkland, she told her mom. 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. When they were ready to go, the GPS chips tucked safely inside, there was one last thing to do: The team crowded around the boxes, with big smiles and thumbs up, and snapped a selfie. Each time, he stole a glance at his phone to see if it was the only message he cared about: the results. Bancel proudly refers to himself as a paranoid optimist. What he saw sent shockwaves down to the tips of his fingers: an endless list of flights to nearly every corner of the world. Vaccines & Biodefense. [2] Boston audiences of 1890 gasped when this photograph was projected as a magic lantern slide. SARS-CoV-2 is the third novel betacoronavirus in the last 20 years to cause substantial human disease; however, unlike . mRNA-1273 is currently in a Phase 2 clinical trial with a trajectory towards Phase 3 efficacy evaluation. mRNA-1273 encodes for a prefusion . That was in January 2020, just a month after the first reports of a mysterious new lung illness in China. "We realized that [SARS-CoV-2] was our prototype and that this was a live run that we were moving through." In the current and next generation of black scientists and entrepreneurs. [2] Early life [ edit] However, when the severity of the pandemic became evident, "knowing what mRNA could do, having confidence in our platform, we thought, how do we show the global public health community what mRNA can do in a pandemic?" Ultimately, he decided hed leave it to Anthony Faucis team at the NIH to determine what was bestthey were the pros, after all. But a vaccine based on mRNA had never been approved or authorized by the FDA before. AAE Named to Inc. Best Workplaces in 2022. 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. The team was able to quickly identify the spike protein and understand how to engineer and stabilize it to induce a strong immune response, and when Bennett's team and the researchers at the NIH saw they had designed the same sequence independently, they felt confident in their findings. Later that evening, he was standing in his kitchen when his phone dinged again. The platforms potential seemed limitless. David L. Ryan/Boston Globe via Getty Images, FILE. This vaccine process needs to happen soon, she told herself. Throughout Boston and beyond, however, there had never been a more active moment in the world of vaccine research. At the time, Afeyan was sitting at a marble-topped table at Pammys in Cambridge celebrating his daughters birthday. It should be done today.. Cost and Value of Biopharmaceuticals. "We believe that our platform is going to make a difference, and we believe that we're uniquely capable of responding to this pandemic. For one thing, because mRNA vaccines dont contain a pathogen, they are thought to be safer than traditional vaccines. Please Note: 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. After all, this would distract from their carefully plotted course for 2020, not to mention disrupt a young company still working to bring its first drug to market. Senior Director, Vaccine Access and Partnerships. Nevertheless, Bennett pressed on in his profession, selling gift shop type items from his studio to attract more customers and continuing as a professional landscape photographer until his death from Bright's disease in 1908. And stand up for science. Chemicals sit inside a refrigerator at the Moderna Therapeutics Inc. lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Nov. 14, 2017. 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. It can take from 10 to 15 years to develop a new vaccine. He did not disappoint. Bennett was no stranger to working at breakneck speed. On an industry conference call about emerging infectious diseases on January 29, Bennett listened in as representatives from major pharmaceutical companies hedged and dodged. Agriculture & Environment. Under the lights on the loading dock, they secured the precious cargo in the truck and closed the door. The site that the NIH had chosen for the trialthe only site it had selectedwas in Seattle. But when the first documented case in the United States was confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Jan. 20, Bennett's team realized they needed "to move much faster. 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. 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. Soon, other decisions were made in the name of speed. His descendants continued to operate the studio until 1999, when the building was restored to its 1908 appearance and became a historic site operated by the Wisconsin Historical Society. It was showtime. Since then, Moderna has produced more than 300 million doses and has played a major role in curbing the pandemic. Scientist Xinhua Yan works in the lab at Moderna in Cambridge, MA, Feb. 28, 2020. Hamilton Bennett works in the Research industry. At least initially, Bennett didnt know how long it would take Moderna to make its first COVID-19 vaccine. On April 6, Inovio, the Pennsylvania company, announced it was approved to start its Phase 1 trial. 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. 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. Bennett also introduced narrative concepts, as noted by his great-granddaughter, Betsy Reese Grant, in The Bennett Story: Bennett also innovated in the way he printed pictures, building a revolving solar printing house that is now housed at the Smithsonian Institution. 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. Sitting in his lab, Barouch fired off an email to Johan Van Hoof, Janssens global head of vaccines. Before she knew it, they had halved the time to 60 days. Most important, using mRNA is a much faster way to make vaccines, which can normally take up to a decade to develop and test. "Every day we just accelerated that timeline faster and faster. The news sent Modernas stock price so high that Bancel became a billionaire overnight. People lost their jobs, diagnoses soared, and the body count rose. Contact an All American Speakers Bureau booking agent. Later that afternoon, the batch was finished. Days later, once she found out shed been selected, several friends tried to dissuade her. 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. It was no longer just an interesting experiment on a clinical scale. He was technically on vacation at his home in the south of France, but even on his days off, Bancel didnt sleep much. Belinda Hamnett (Chinese: ; Cantonese: Hon Kwun-Ting) born 28 September 1975 in Hong Kong is an actress, model and ex-beauty queen. The vehicle pulled out of the plant, its taillights glowing red in the dark as it headed south to Maryland. But when the first documented case in the United States was confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Jan. 20, Bennett's team realized they needed "to move much faster. Hamilton maintains alliances with a broad range of domestic and overseas government and commercial collaborators, which has allowed for the pursuit of both groundbreaking science . It took 14 days, and there was no way to shave any time off that one. Its going to be the 1918 flu pandemic. That night, she ditched her vehicle near the office, called an Uber, and managed to hold it together the whole ride home. Bennett capitalized on this, building the H. H. Bennett Studio in 1875 and using it to sell postcards and souvenir portraits to travelers. Much of it wasnt even public and yet here they were, turning their phone screens toward Bancel for him to see. I was so focused on the program, and I would leave the office at 10 o'clock at night. 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. At first, some committee members urged caution. FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. At Moderna, we believe messenger RNA, or mRNA, is the "software of life. International. Vaccines & Biodefense. 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. As the days and nights ground on, the intensity and relentless rhythm of the work started to wear on Bennett. Being crowned Miss Asia Pageant 1997 effectively launched her career in the fashion and entertainment 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. Moderna scientists had never tried to make a vaccine this quickly before, and there was risk of straining the platform and the team beyond their breaking points. 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. Terms & Conditions. All rights reserved. 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. 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. Trump looked him in the eye and asked, Can I count on you? This sounds risky, one of them told her. 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. She holds graduate degrees from the University of Washington in Environmental Health and Microbiology, and a certificate in Epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. There is no gray area; it is either 100 percent sterile or you are done, he says. Bennett, who holds graduate degrees from University of Washington in Environmental Health and Microbiology, as well a certificate in Epidemiology from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, has over 10 years of research experience and had spent the last four years as a researcher and leader on the company's vaccine portfolio. 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." Three days later, on January 10, Bennett was on a previously scheduled call with Graham when the subject of Chinas low-level viral outbreak came up. Bennett went back into the software and updated everyones timeline. My hope for the world is that many of us get to the finish line, so we can stop this thing, Bancel says. As soon as she saw the ad, it hit her: Maybe there was something she could do after all. Bennett also took pictures outside the state, photographing an ice palace in St. Paul, Minnesota and the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois. It was a gamble. All Rights Reserved. Note that clicking the link below will block access to this site for 24 hours. 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, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, VACCINE ACCESS AND PARTNERSHIPS, MODERNA, The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for more geographic diversity in the production, 1201 New York Avenue NW, Suite 1300, Washington, DC, 20005 202-962-9200, Vaccine manufacturing in Africa: Challenges and opportunities, BIO Intellectual Property Counsels Committee Conference. Bringing you daily news at the intersection of biotechnology, politics, patients & the planet. Photo via AP Photo/Ted S. Warren. If you are or someone you know is experiencing a side effect, please reach out to your healthcare professional. Bancel knew he needed to reach out to Moderna cofounder Noubar Afeyan, the serial biotech entrepreneur who runs Flagship Pioneering in Cambridge and chairs Modernas board of directors. Okay, Bennett said under her breath, her microphone on mute. Sure. 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. Drug Development & Review . Still, that was no guarantee hed get a response on a Saturday from a pharma exec. [5] It was too soon, they said. Hamilton Bennett's research while affiliated with Moderna and other places Overview What is this page? 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. Six days after beginning their conversation, on January 31, Barouchs lab and Janssen had an agreement signed, sealed, and delivered. Any day now, Moderna was expecting the green light from the FDA, allowing the NIH to move ahead with a Phase 1 trial for the companys new vaccine. coronavirus Ave. to take the call. But a vaccine based on mRNA had never been approved or authorized by the FDA before. All American Entertainment Named to Inc. Best Workplaces in 2022. Bancel told him what hed learned about the virus and suggested that Moderna begin to build the vaccinefor real. Five Healthful Boston-Area Meal-Delivery Services, Introducing Our 2021 List of Top Dentists, This search result is here to prevent scraping, On the Market: A Penthouse Unit in a Former Boston Brewery, Here's Where to Find the Best Fish and Chips in Boston, Here are the 2023 Boston Marathon Winners, The Interview: Crime-Fiction TV Writer and Novelist Dennis Lehane, Careers and Internships at Boston Magazine. The popularity of his photographs helped turn the city of Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin into a tourist destination. 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. They wanted to see how it would play out. One executive mentioned that several biotechs were chasing the vaccine. Human Health. 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. Time was of the essence. In contrast, Modernas vaccines contain an engineered strand of messenger RNA, which tells the bodys cells to produce a very specific part of a pathogen that will ignite an immune response. Moderna and Dr. Barney Graham, deputy director of the Vaccine Research Center at the NIH, had discussed executing a prototype project for a mRNA vaccine in 2020. 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. 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. 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. As he spent time with two prominent infectious-disease experts from Europe, they were receiving a constant stream of information from their contacts on the ground in China, including Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak. A Shared vision: Henry Hamilton Bennett and William H. Metcalf, A Compelling Vision: H. H. Bennett and the Wisconsin Dells, Items relating to the photographic publishing of H. H. Bennett, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=H._H._Bennett&oldid=1118079413, Pre-Confederation Canadian emigrants to the United States, People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 25 October 2022, at 02:43. And stand up for science. Bennett argued to go for the real vaccine. 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.
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