In a decision which has been slammed by scientists, the Trump administration has cancelled a contract awarded to Moderna for the late-stage development of its bird flu vaccine for humans, as well as the right to purchase shots, the company said last week.
Six months ago, the Biden administration awarded Moderna $590m for development of its bird flu vaccine, and to support the expansion of clinical studies for up to five additional subtypes of pandemic influenza, Reuters reports.
This was in addition to $176m pledged by the US 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.
However, HHS said earlier this year that it was reviewing agreements made by the previous 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 Centre for Health Security, adding that it is the opposite approach Trump took with Operation Warp Speed to combat Covid-19.
The agency had determined that the project did not meet the scientific standards or safety expectations required for continued federal investment, according to an HHS spokesperson.
Over the past year, bird flu has infected 70 people, most of them farm workers, as it has spread aggressively among cattle herds and poultry flocks.
Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has repeatedly questioned the use of vaccines and had suggested in a TV interview earlier this year that poultry farmers should let the bird flu spread unchecked through their flocks to study chickens which did not contract it.
Moderna said it planned to explore alternatives for late-stage development and manufacturing of the vaccine.
The company has been banking on revenue from newer mRNA shots, including its bird flu vaccine and experimental Covid-flu combination vaccine, to make up for declining post-pandemic demand for its Covid jab.
Moderna also said last week that it had received positive interim data from a mid-stage trial set up to test the safety and immunogenicity of its bird flu vaccine targeting the H5 avian influenza virus subtype.
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