Professor Langer Now Worth Nearly $1 Billion Thanks To His Early Investing in Moderna

Bob Langer, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), stands for a photo at his lab in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., on Monday, Oct. 31, 2011. Kelvin Ma–Bloomberg/Getty Images
Another early investor of Moderna is on the cusp of owning a stake worth at least $1 billion after the biotech firm reported encouraging early trial results for an experimental Covid-19 vaccine.

The value of board member Bob Langer’s 3.2% holding, including stock options, rose to $934.3 million Monday, as the shares surged 20% to a record $80 each. Langer, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, would be at least the third individual with Moderna holdings topping $1 billion, joining Chief Executive Officer Stephane Bancel and Harvard University professor Timothy Springer.
Moderna, whose shares have more than quadrupled this year, released interim data from a small phase 1 trial showing positive early signs that the vaccine can create an immune system response to the virus in humans. The news helped fuel a broader surge in stocks, with the S&P 500 Index advancing 3.2%, the most since April 8.
The company priced a stock offering to fund manufacturing of its coronavirus vaccine at $76 a share, 5% below the last close, people familiar with the deal said after Monday’s market trading.
Langer, 71, has licensed or sub-licensed patents to more than 400 biotech, pharmaceutical, chemical and medical companies, according to his biography at MIT’s Langer Lab.