July 23 (Reuters) - Robert Langer, co-founder and a key

figure behind Moderna's ( MRNA ) scientific success, will step

down from the vaccine maker's board on Aug. 5, the company said

on Tuesday.

WHY IT MATTERS

Langer played a crucial role in the development of Moderna's ( MRNA )

messenger RNA COVID vaccine, which is the biotech's only

commercial product.

Moderna ( MRNA ) said it expects to focus recruitment efforts on

individuals with scientific and innovation experience.

CONTEXT

Langer is one of the nine Institute Professors - the highest

honor awarded to a faculty member - at the Massachusetts

Institute of Technology. He was the chairman of the U.S. Food

and Drug Administration and is considered the most cited

academician in history.

He heads the Langer Laboratory that focuses on studying the

delivery and mechanism of drugs based on genetically engineered

proteins, DNA and RNA.

Additionally, Moderna ( MRNA ) said director Stephen Berenson, who

has been on the board since 2017, will also step down. David

Rubenstein, co-founder and co-chairman of the Carlyle Group ( CG )

, will replace him.

KEY QUOTES

"After many years of service as a co-founder and member of

Moderna's ( MRNA ) Board of Directors, I have decided that now is the

right time for me to step down," Langer said.

"As one of Moderna's ( MRNA ) co-founders, Bob (Robert) is one of the

visionaries responsible for making mRNA medicines a reality, and

his insights have enabled the company to positively impact

hundreds of millions of lives," Moderna's ( MRNA ) chairman and

co-founder Noubar Afeyan said.