Moderna CEO: There's 'so much noise' around vaccine facts

It has been almost four years since the COVID-19 pandemic overtook the United States and there is still so much misinformation surrounding vaccines. Moderna (MRNA) CEO Stéphane Bancel joins Yahoo Finance's Julie Hyman and Brian Sozzi from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland to discuss the politicized environment for vaccinations.

"What I think is difficult is that there's so much noise that for most people to understand whatever facts versus fiction is really, really difficult," Bancel states, emphasizing the importance of vaccines to protect the elderly and infants. "That's the other thing we want to make sure is that we educate new moms, new parents so that they are able to have the facts — Do I prefer to have my kid... go to the hospital, and the child stays in the hospital, hospitalized... or do I want the vaccine that has a lot of safety data..."

Bancel also comments on whether the 2024 US election will influence bias around science — "Do not forget it's the Trump administration who set up... and actually... created and developed the vaccine..." — while discussing Moderna's future product pipeline.

It's all part of Yahoo Finance's exclusive coverage from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where our team will speak to top decision-makers as well as preeminent leaders in business, finance, and politics about the world’s most pressing issues and priorities for the coming year.

Watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live here.

Editor's note: This article was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.

Video transcript

JULIE HYMAN: One of the themes of this year's WEF is rebuilding trust. And that is an important theme for our next guest, because he makes vaccines, which, as we know, have become politicized. And this is an issue that people are paying attention to around the globe and here at the conference. It's Stéphane Bancel, who is Moderna CEO. Thank you so much for being here, Stéphane. Really appreciate it.

STÉPHANE BANCEL: Thank you for having me.

JULIE HYMAN: So where do you think we are globally as well as in the United States? I mean, you've been gaining market share with your COVID-19 vaccine. But how do we overcome that problem? How can we, as a globe, with other leaders, work together on that issue?

STÉPHANE BANCEL: It's a very important question. Because, of course, we work really hard, sometimes for years, to develop those vaccines to help people. And so if people don't take them, we are not-- I think our objective and our impact-- so if you think about it, first, I think it's very different around the world.

There are some countries where you have very high vaccination rates. If you look at Spain and Portugal, I think, they're one of the highest vaccination rate in the world. Because there has been a thing through the pandemic, a very good alignment across party lines to believe in the science and the scientists, and not to throw the vaccines under the bus with or without facts.

If you look at the UK, for example, in the UK, the vaccination rate in the 60 and above is twice the US. It's around 70%. So I think we really have an acute problem in the US. As you know, it has been massively politicized. It still is like-- I think in the last 24 hours is there are things that have just made no scientific sense.

And what I think is difficult is that there's so much noise, that for most people to understand what are the facts versus fiction is very, very difficult. And so we're really doubling down, both as an industry, as a company. We're trying to also not try to potentially move the needle for everybody, but for people that we really want to help.

Because if you think about it, the key with the COVID vaccine is what? Making sure grandpa and grandma don't get hospitalized, because of course, that age group is at very high risk. The second one is infants, like 6 months to 12 months of age. Because an infant is going to start to see COVID that it starts to meet the world. And are we going to see COVID as a virus or COVID as a vaccine.

And when you think about the risk of getting a small infant hospitalized is actually very, very high. And that's the other thing that we want to make sure is that we educate new moms, new parents, so that they are able to have the facts. In terms of do I prefer my kid to see COVID as a virus and to have a risk of a very high fever, go to the hospital, and the child stay in the hospital hospitalized? Or do I want the vaccine that has a lot of safety data that it's very safe? So there's still a lot of work to be done.

BRIAN SOZZI: To some degree, I think some would say that science is somewhat on the ballot in the run up to the presidential election, just given how much success former President Trump did have in the Iowa caucus. Are you worried that if he does return to the White House, science is back being attacked, and you can't impact society the way you would like to and given all the products you're working on?

STÉPHANE BANCEL: So if you think about science-- I mean, there's been ups and downs across the US and across the world. We should not forget that it's the Trump administration who set up Operation Warp Speed, and actually get, in my opinion, the credit of having developed all those vaccines and provided the capital for companies across the board, and having bet on different technologies to get the vaccine for the finish line.

I think we live in a world where everything is tied to science. We talk a lot about AI this week. This is science and math. You know, airplanes and rocket ships going into the sky, it's also science again. And so I think our world is based in science. Our phone is made from science.

And so I think we just need to go back to first principle is what do we know-- some things are risky. Of course, there's no things with no risk. You're taking a car, you might have a car accident, you know. You're walking across the street, you might get run by a car.

And so it's always about looking at the trade-off, what's the return and what's the downside. And trying to make sure we have big asymmetry for the world instead of upside. And that's I think what vaccines do. If you look at the side effect profile on hundreds of millions of people, it's so beneficial for society.

JULIE HYMAN: It's an exciting time for your company because you've got a lot of near stage things in the pipeline, expanding really beyond a one-product company effectively. What's next? Is it RSV that's coming next? And then what's beyond that? What should investors be paying attention to?

STÉPHANE BANCEL: Well, this year, I think we're going to see a firework of amazing data at Moderna. Because as you know, we built this company since the beginning to build a platform. It made no scientific sense to us this would be a one-drug company. Since day one, I told investors it will be zero or a lot of drugs. But one makes no sense or two makes no sense.

And so, of course, COVID was a big acceleration. Of course, a lot of people believe we are just a COVID company. But COVID was just the first product coming out of this massive platform. And so as you said, RSV should be approved very soon. I'm talking a few months. We filed last summer.

We've very good discussion with regulators around the world. We have a positive phase III for flu. Flu should be filed in the coming months to the regulators as our third product for approval. We should also get very soon the flu plus COVID combined, so only one shot and you get protection against flu and COVID.

That will be very convenient. I prefer one shot than getting two shots every fall. That should come, I think, sometime around mid-year. And when we have that data, which I believe will be positive, because the phase II was very strong. We have never seen another vaccine a phase II not yet translation into phase III. Saying we will file this, potentially, by the end of the year.

When CMV-- we don't talk a lot about CMV yet, but CMV is in phase III. So CMV is cytomegalovirus. It's a virus that's the number one cause of birth defect driven by an infectious disease in the world, in the US, in Switzerland where we are, and around the world. It's 2 to 3 times Down syndrome. And there is no hope. There is no tool. It has been the number one priority of a National Academy of Medicine for a vaccine in the US for 20 years.

JULIE HYMAN: Wow.

STÉPHANE BANCEL: Every big pharma tried to do it. All the product failed. It's a very complex vaccine because it's a very complex virus, going back to the science. It's 6 mRNA molecule in every vial. The phase II data is phenomenal. We're waiting for phase III this year. As soon as we get the data, assuming it's positive, we will file it and again, go for approval.

And then, I was reviewing during the show in December with a cancer. We have now great now three-year survival of skin cancer data. 50% improvement. Let's use the best drug on the market, Keytruda from Merck. That's also going to be filed. And then the rare genetic disease, I anticipate that this year we're going to go into pivotal studies. So the last step of getting the final data to share with the regulator. So people are going to see--

JULIE HYMAN: Fireworks. Fireworks.

BRIAN SOZZI: You got a lot--

JULIE HYMAN: That's a good way to describe it.

BRIAN SOZZI: You got a lot going on. In fact, in light of that, let's just get you off this set.