Moderna (MRNA 0.66%) disappointed investors when it announced the pending departure of a key member of its executive team a few months ago. In this Motley Fool Live video recorded on June 22, 2021, healthcare and cannabis bureau editor and analyst Olivia Zitkus and Fool.com contributor Adria Cimino discuss why things are looking brighter today -- and why the path ahead should remain smooth.
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Olivia Zitkus: Over to Moderna. Let's talk about some of their news. A few months ago, I think you highlighted some bad news from the company. Chief Medical Officer Tal Zaks is leaving the company in September. What are the risks associated with the departure? We're always looking at executive, C-suite level departures and people coming and going, especially at a company like this that was in the throes of growth. How have things progressed since you last talked about it? What are we looking for coming September? What's going on here?
Adria Cimino: Well, I think the risk is, this position is in charge of clinical development and regulatory affairs, two very key things, especially for a company like Moderna at this stage. We see that they are working on boosters, and they're going to want to apply for an EUA [emergency use authorization] soon on that. And they have other things in the pipeline moving aggressively forward. We need to have someone in that job who has a lot of experience, and who knows the company and knows the sorts of things that the company is working on.
We've got some good news. The company hired Paul Burton from Johnson & Johnson. He'd been there for 16 years. And, most recently, he'd been at Janssen. Now, Janssen is part of Johnson & Johnson, and they're the maker of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine, and he was chief global medical affairs officer. This is really a key point, that he has experience in COVID vaccines. Of course, the fact that he oversaw this development is really key and very important, so he is someone who has experience, and has the coronavirus vaccine experience. I think that this is a really good choice for Moderna because, yeah, it's very difficult to see someone who got them this far leaving right now. But it seems like it's going to be a smooth transition. Zaks leaves in September, and Burton joins in July. That gives them time to work together, and I think that this is definitely really good news. Moderna really aggressively went right after a good candidate and got him, because they had announced that Tal Zaks was leaving just a couple of months ago. This is really good news, and shows, again, the company being very proactive, and acting quickly, and making good decisions. This is good news for shareholders.
Olivia Zitkus: Yeah, I think so too. I think Burton's experience just general regulatory affairs between not just in the states but all over the world. Moderna, if they're going to be maybe not as much of a giant as J&J, or some of Janssen's drugs have been, but it's still a huge positive, his experience all around the world with regulatory affairs.
Adria Cimino: Absolutely.
