“US Grants Moderna $176M for Bird Flu Vaccine Production”,The US government’s $176 million award to Moderna aims to accelerate the development of a bird flu vaccine. This announcement comes amidst growing concerns over a multi-state outbreak of the H5N1 virus among dairy cows.
The funds from the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority will be used to complete late-stage development and testing of a pre-pandemic mRNA-based vaccine against H5N1 avian influenza, the company said in a statement.
The agreement also includes additional options to prepare and accelerate a response to future public health threats, the company said.
In March, US officials reported the first outbreak of the H5N1 virus in dairy cattle, which has since infected more than 130 herds in 12 states.
Scientists are concerned that exposure to the virus in poultry and dairy operations could increase the risk that the virus will mutate and gain the ability to spread easily among people, touching off a pandemic.
Last year, Moderna started a safety and immunogenicity study of its bird flu vaccine called mRNA-1018 in healthy adults aged 18 and older. That study included both the H5 subtype of bird flu that is currently circulating in dairy cattle, as well as the H7 bird flu subtype.
Moderna’s vaccine uses mRNA, or messenger RNA, the technology in its COVID-19 shot.
“mRNA vaccine technology offers advantages in efficacy, speed of development and production, scalability, and reliability in addressing infectious disease outbreaks, as demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said in a statement.
Manufacturing of conventional flu vaccines using cell or egg-based technology can take four to six months.
US officials have said they were moving bulk vaccine from CSL Seqirus that closely matches the current virus into finished shots that could provide 4.8 million doses if needed.
