The Department of Health and Human Services is terminating a contract with Moderna worth up to $766 million to develop human vaccines for avian influenza, according to a Moderna press release. The company said that the vaccine was shown to be safe and well-tolerated in early clinical studies. It had planned to move the vaccine into later-stage trials with funding from HHS but was notified that the agency is canceling its award.
Federal government agencies only got involved with the vaccine in July 2024 when the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) approved a subsidy for Moderna’s late-stage development of its mRNA-1018 vaccine with a $176 million grant. Before it expired, the Biden administration increased the subsidy by $590 million, bringing the total to $766 million from HHS funds.
“While the termination of funding from HHS adds uncertainty, we are pleased by the robust immune response and safety profile observed in this interim analysis of the Phase 1/2 study of our H5 avian flu vaccine and we will explore alternative paths forward for the program,” said Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna. “These clinical data in pandemic influenza underscore the critical role mRNA technology has played as a countermeasure to emerging health threats.”
Avian influenza remains an extremely low risk to humans, meaning any new vaccine for H5 influenza would be shelved unless and until it is needed.
