The Trump administration has canceled a contract awarded to Moderna for the development of its bird flu vaccine.
The contract, worth $590 million, was awarded to the COVID-19 jab manufacturer by the Biden administration in mid-January, just before President Trump took office.
In total, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) terminated over $700 million in funding awarded to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology company.
Per Reuters:
This was in addition to $176 million awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) last year to complete the late-stage development and testing of a pre-pandemic mRNA-based vaccine against the H5N1 avian influenza.
HHS told Reuters earlier this year that it was reviewing agreements made by the Biden administration for vaccine production.
"The cancellation means that the government is discarding what could be one of the most effective and rapid tools to combat an avian influenza outbreak," said Amesh Adalja, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, adding that it is the opposite approach Trump took with Operation Warp Speed to combat COVID-19.
An HHS spokesperson said that after a comprehensive internal review, the agency had determined that the project did not meet the scientific standards or safety expectations required for continued federal investment.
Moderna won the contract, funded by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, in July 2024, giving it $176 million for the late-stage development of an mRNA vaccine against the H5 influenza virus. In January this year, HHS added $590 million to the pot, yielding a total contract value of approximately $766 million. The agreement also allowed for up to five additional subtypes of pandemic influenza. A newer strain of the H5 virus has hit wild and domesticated flocks hard and spilled over to cows and in a few cases, humans, fueling concerns that it could acquire the ability to transmit between people.
Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said on Wednesday that the pulled funding "adds uncertainty" to the company's bird flu program. It also comes at a critical juncture for Moderna, which is awaiting an FDA decision date for its next-generation COVID-19 shot mRNA-1283 at the end of this week and has been struggling to weather broader macro headwinds.
Recent moves from the Trump administration to hamstring mRNA vaccine research have raised concern across the scientific community. In Moderna's case, despite data showing that its flu/COVID-19 vaccine outperformed current shots, the company elected to pull its regulatory application for the combo vaccine last week after consulting with the FDA.
The company at the time did not reveal the specific reason for withdrawing the application, only noting that it plans to resubmit "later this year," when more efficacy data for a different flu vaccine becomes available. The combo vaccine, dubbed mRNA-1083, contains components of the H5 flu vaccine, as well as mRNA-1283, the COVID-19 vaccine under review.