The US government has allocated $590 million to Moderna (MRNA.US) for the development of avian flu vaccines.

The US government has granted $590 million to Moderna (MRNA.US) to advance its research on avian flu vaccine. At the same time, the US is doubling its efforts to deal with the increasing human infections. This is a supplement to the $176 million granted by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) last year, which was used to complete the late-stage development and testing of mRNA-based H5N1 avian flu pre-pandemic vaccine. Moderna said on Friday that this funding will also support the expansion of clinical research for up to five additional influenza pandemic subtypes. The company's shares rose by 4.52% to $35.6 after the US stock market closed on Friday. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement, "Variants of avian flu have been proven to be particularly unpredictable and dangerous for humans in the past. Accelerating the development of new vaccines will keep us ahead and ensure that Americans have the tools needed to stay safe." The company stated that based on preliminary data from an early to mid-stage study, it is preparing to advance its experimental vaccine mRNA-1018 to late-stage trials and plans to announce this data at an upcoming medical conference. The funding was awarded by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority's Rapid Response Partnership Vehicle (RRPV). Since April, nearly 70 people in the US have been infected with avian flu, mostly farmworkers, due to the spread of the virus in poultry and cow herds. Most human infections have been mild, but Louisiana reported a death case last week. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the risk of avian flu to the general public is low, and there is currently no evidence of further human-to-human transmission. Earlier this week, this biotech company continued to cut costs and expand its portfolio due to some unfavorable factors that may arise later this year, lowering its sales expectations for 2025 by about $1 billion. Moderna currently expects revenue in 2025 to be between $15 billion and $25 billion, with most of it expected to be realized in the second half of this year. Moderna plans to approve 10 new products in the next three years, including a combined vaccine for Covid and influenza and a "next-generation" Covid vaccine to strengthen its product portfolio. The company announced on Monday that three companies were approved in 2025 alone.