The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that it will supply Moderna with $590 million for pandemic preparedness efforts.
Particularly, “to accelerate the development of mRNA-based pandemic influenza vaccines and enhance mRNA platform capabilities so that the U.S. is better prepared to respond to other emerging infectious diseases.”
Additionally, the award will assist Moderna with expediting the “development of an H5N1 mRNA influenza vaccine that is well matched to strains currently circulating in cows and birds and expands the clinical data supporting the use of mRNA vaccines that may be needed if other influenza strains emerge with pandemic potential.”
Moderna is also working on producing and testing an mRNA vaccine for H7N9 influenza.
