Trump administration cancels $766 million Moderna contract to fight
pandemic flu
[May 29, 2025]
By The Associated Press
The Trump administration has canceled $766 million awarded to drugmaker
Moderna Inc. to develop a vaccine against potential pandemic influenza
viruses, including the H5N1 bird flu.
The company said it was notified Wednesday that the Health and Human
Services Department had withdrawn funds awarded in July 2024 and in
January to pay for development and purchase of its investigational
vaccine.
The funds were awarded through the Biomedical Advanced Research and
Development Authority, or BARDA, a program that focuses on medical
treatments for potential pandemics.
The new vaccine, called mRNA-1018, used the same technology that allowed
development and rollout of vaccines to fight Covid-19 in record time.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has expressed deep skepticism
regarding mRNA vaccines, despite real-world evidence that the vaccines
are safe and saved millions of lives.
The cancelation came as Moderna announced positive interim results from
an early-stage trial of the vaccine that targeted H5 bird flu virus,
tested in 300 healthy adults.
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A patient is given a flu vaccine Oct. 28, 2022, in Lynwood, Calif.
On Tuesday, July 2, 2024, the U.S. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)
 “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," the
company said in a statement.
H5N1 bird flu viruses spilled from wild bird into cattle in the U.S.
last year, infecting hundreds of animals in several states. At least
70 people in the U.S. have been sickened by bird flu infections,
mostly mild. One person died. Scientists fear that continued
mutation of the virus could allow it to become more virulent or more
easily spread in people, with the possibility that it could trigger
a pandemic.
Moderna received $176 million in July 2024 and $590 million in
January. The January award would have supported a late-stage
clinical trial that could have determined the vaccine's efficacy
against pandemic viruses, including bird flu, a company spokesman
said.
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