Moderna Receives $590M From HHS To Develop Bird Flu Vaccine

TUESDAY, Jan. 21, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is awarding the pharmaceutical company Moderna $590 million to continue developing a vaccine to protect against bird flu.

This funding, announced Friday by Moderna, builds on the $176 million it received from HHS last year to support earlier stages of vaccine research.

Moderna’s vaccine is designed to target H5 and H7 avian influenza viruses.

The company plans to move into phase 3 clinical trials to test the vaccine in a larger group of people after receiving positive results in earlier phases. It said those findings will be shared at an upcoming scientific conference.

“Avian flu variants have proven to be particularly unpredictable and dangerous to humans in the past," outgoing HHS secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement, who added that the response had been a top priority for HHS and the Biden administration.

“Accelerating the development of new vaccines will allow us to stay ahead and ensure that Americans have the tools they need to stay safe,” he continued.

Avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, refers to several types of influenza that typically infect birds. But certain variants, such as H5N1, have raised alarm among health officials because they can occasionally infect humans.

Over the past several months, dozens of people in the U.S. have been sickened by the virus, including the first reported human death from bird flu in Louisiana earlier this month.

While the U.S. already has vaccines against H5 viruses in its Strategic National Stockpile, they are based on older technology. Moderna’s new mRNA-based vaccine aims to offer a more effective option.

"The project will provide additional support for late-stage development and licensure of pre-pandemic mRNA-based vaccines," Moderna said in a news release. "The agreement will also support the expansion of clinical studies for up to five additional subtypes of pandemic influenza."

Under the Biden administration, HHS also pledged more than $300 million to improve bird flu surveillance, testing, hospital preparedness and public awareness.

While most recent cases of H5N1 have involved animal-to-animal transmission, federal health officials emphasize the importance of staying vigilant and working together to protect human and animal health.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers the current risk of bird flu to the public to be low, as there is still no evidence of human-to-human transmission. But experts warn that it's important to keep investing in monitoring and vaccine development to stay ahead of possible threats.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has more on the current bird flu situation.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, news release, Jan. 17, 2025; Moderna, news release, Jan. 17, 2025; CNN