Moderna closes in on massive biotech IPO

Moderna Therapeutics, a Massachusetts startup that wants to help patients develop drugs within their own bodies via injections of synthetic mRNA, expects to raise around $618 million in its IPO on Thursday night, Reuters reports.

Why it matters: This would the largest IPO ever for a development-stage biotech company, and its $8 billion initial market cap would be the year's third-largest for VC-backed companies, according to Renaissance Capital (behind only Dropbox and Spotify).

Go deeper: Moderna gets ready for its public debut