U.S. Govt To Provide Funding For Late-stage Trial Of Moderna's Bird Flu Vaccine

(RTTNews) - The US government is reportedly in the final stages of negotiations to provide funding for a late-stage trial of Moderna, Inc.'s (MRNA) mRNA H5N1 bird flu vaccine, known as 'mRNA-1018'. This comes as the H5N1 virus continues to rapidly spread among poultry and cattle, with two confirmed human infections in the United States.

According to sources familiar with the matter cited by the Financial Times, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is set to allocate tens of millions of dollars in federal funding for the trial, with the potential for the deal to be finalized as early as next month. Additionally, the agreement may include a commitment to purchase vaccine doses should the Phase 3 trials prove successful.

While US health authorities have classified the public health risk from bird flu as low, they are ramping up efforts to bolster the pandemic vaccine stockpile in light of outbreaks on egg farms in forty-eight states and among dairy cows in nine states. Despite the low risk of human-to-human transmission, concerns are escalating due to the impact of bird flu on dairy workers. However, scientists have emphasized that there is currently no evidence of human-to-human transmission, making the likelihood of a bird flu pandemic low.

Despite this, the World Health Organization remains vigilant about the potential spread of the virus among humans, particularly as it has been increasingly affecting mammals on both land and sea. In addition to engaging in discussions with Moderna, the US government has also been in talks with Pfizer, which developed a Covid-19 mRNA vaccine, regarding a vaccine targeting H5 flu variants. Both the US health department and the pharmaceutical companies have declined to comment on the potential funding.