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Timothy Springer, a medical professor at Harvard University, saw his net worth pass the $1 billion threshold this week as his early stake in the biotech firm Moderna soared, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.

The professor invested $5 million in the company early on, and the stake's value has since swelled to more than $800 million, Bloomberg said.

Moderna shares have more than doubled in the year to date as its experimental coronavirus vaccine moved to human trials and received more than $400 million in funding from the US government.

Watch Moderna trade live here.

Timothy Springer, a Harvard University medical professor, is now worth more than $1 billion after his early stake in the biotech firm Moderna skyrocketed through 2020, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.

The company's experimental coronavirus vaccine is among the few to have advanced to human trials. Springer invested $5 million in Moderna before it went public in 2018, and the firm's success means his stake's value has ballooned 17,000%, to more than $800 million, according to Bloomberg.

A small group of scientists, executives, and investors minted extraordinary gains in the biotech sector as the coronavirus outbreak escalated to a severe pandemic. Those with stakes in Moderna saw their net worth surge the most, followed by those invested in Novavax and Gilead.

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Moderna traded at $50.39 per share as of 11:20 a.m. ET on Thursday, up about 162% year-to-date.

The Department of Health and Human Services recently agreed to pay the biotech company more than $400 million to develop its mRNA-1273 vaccine.

The windfall isn't Springer's first. The professor made roughly $100 million in 1999 when his first business was acquired by Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Bloomberg said.

Read more: Tim Bratz went from flipping $14,000 houses to a 3,472-unit portfolio worth $275 million. Here's the 'amazing' investment strategy he employs to build his long-term wealth.

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