Moderna co-founder Robert Langer: ‘I wanted to use my chemical engineering to help people’

theguardian.com:

The chemical engineer Robert Langer co-founded Covid-19 vaccine maker Moderna, and his innovations have helped create more than 100 products from artificial skin to messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines. The 73-year-old has a mountain of research papers and patents to his name, on top of which he has started more than 40 companies and won more than 200 awards, including the Queen Elizabeth prize, which has been called the “Nobel for engineering”. Langer’s biomedical engineering lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he holds a professorship, employs more than 100 researchers. He spoke to theObserver to mark Unesco World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development, held earlier this month.

Last year you debuted on Forbesmagazine’s billionaires list. Being a co-founder of Moderna has been profitable! How did it feel?It’s embarrassing. Everybody sees it. I have never sold a Moderna share, so it’s not like I’m spending the money. But I never did any of this to get rich. I’ve never sought high paying jobs. All my life I’ve looked for things that I felt would make a difference.

Did you think Moderna would be successful when you established it in 2010?The platform – mRNA-based medicines delivered to the body via nanoparticles – had revolutionary potential and, because of my work on the drug delivery of large molecules, I thought we could do it, even if others doubted. I remember telling my wife that I thought Moderna would be the most successful biotech company in history! Of course, the Covid-19 vaccine accelerated the company’s success, but we were only able to make it because of all the underlying technology we had already developed.

You grew up in Albany, New York. Your dad ran a small liquor store and your mum took