In this Motley Fool Live video recorded on March 26, healthcare and cannabis bureau chief Corinne Cardina and Fool.com contributor Adria Cimino discuss the upcoming departure of Moderna's (MRNA 0.66%) chief medical officer.
Corinne Cardina: In February, Moderna announced that its chief medical officer is planning to leave the company starting in September. This person has spent six years at Moderna, and they're going to be looking for a new CMO. For a company that's really just celebrating its first commercial success, is this a loss of institutional knowledge? Is it a concern for investors?
Adria Cimino: It's definitely a loss. It definitely is. Tal Zaks who oversees clinical development and regulatory affairs -- losing him is definitely a big loss. I think it's a concern for investors as far as we want to see who is going to take over in that role and how this new person, what their priorities are going to be. Because in this role, you're responsible for clinical development strategy. That's a really big thing. Overseeing analysis of trial data, communicating with health authorities. This is a really, really important thing. I'm expecting that Moderna is going to continue along on the path that Tal Zaks established. But it's still a change, so whenever a change like this comes, it's worth it to really pay attention. Especially at a key point. As we said, we have this new vaccine on the market, Moderna is close to market with potential boosters. There are four of their phase 2 or phase 3 projects in the works. There are also exciting new projects. The company spoke just recently, they just launched work on HIV and flu vaccines. All of this, this new person is going to have to handle and develop strategy, so it's definitely something to watch. No worries for the moment, but something to watch.
