Moderna’s chief executive, Stéphane Bancel, a French biochemical engineer, recognized the implication. Pfizer, the global pharmaceutical giant that was busy testing a similar vaccine candidate and promising initial results by October, would take the obvious lead. “It was the hardest decision I made this year,” Mr. Bancel said. Moderna’s problem seemed fitting for late summer 2020, when the United States was reeling from not just a pandemic but unrest over racial injustice. Dr. Slaoui informed Mr. Bancel that Moderna had not recruited enough minority candidates into its vaccine trials.

Source: New York Times November 21, 2020 20:43 UTC