Hard Work, Perseverance Pays Off: Harvard Professor Pockets $400 Million In IPO Of BioTech Firm Moderna

Timothy Springer, a professor of medicine at the prestigious Harvard Medical School, made $400 million when a biotech startup, Moderna, went public in the US, as reported by Bloomberg. The company, which launched one of the biggest Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) in biotechnology history, hopes to make personalised cancer vaccines.

Mr Springer, who is the fourth largest stakeholder in the company, had earlier invested $5 million and now owns 17.3 million shares. At the current IPO price of $23 a share, the total value of his stake stands at roughly $400 million.

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Apart from being a notable backer of medical startups, the Harvard professor, has invested his own money in other startups like Medicine Inc, Selecta Biosciences Inc. and Morphic Therapeutics.

Mr Springer, who is passionate about ornately shaped stones, also started, Scholar Rock Holding Co, whose shares have risen by over 90 per cent since its stock market debut. “The way he’s interested in stones, it’s the same way he’s interested in his work. When he loves something, he wants to do something. For science you need this kind of spirit,” says Kemin Hu, one of the world’s foremost experts on the stones.

“I feel that I’ve had more than enough wealth for myself for some time," Springer noted, "I don’t feel I need more.”