Moderna announced that its chief medical officer, Tal Zaks, MD, PhD, will leave the company in late September, as the drugmaker continues to scale up the launch of its COVID-19 vaccine and prepares to file several biologics license applications.
The announcement was included in the company's financial results. The CMO spent six years at Moderna, prior to which he served as the Head of Sanofi Oncology.
“I would like to thank Tal for his tremendous impact on Moderna’s success over the last six years. Tal joined us when we were a pre-clinical company. His guidance and contributions were important in helping Moderna get to where we are today. Through his leadership over the past year in Moderna’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tal has made a contribution that extends beyond Moderna to all of society. I have enjoyed having him as my partner and wish him all the best as he embarks on the next leg of his career,” said Stéphane Bancel.
Moderna said it will use management consulting firm Russell Reynolds Associates to recruit a new CMO. Zaks' next move was not made public.
The drugmaker also said that it expects to make $18.4 billion in sales of its COVID-19 vaccine this year, raising the lower end of its global manufacturing plan for 2021 from 600 million doses to 700 million doses.