Representational image of a vial and syringe in front of a displayed Moderna logo
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The Trump administration has cancelled $766 million awarded to drugmaker Moderna Inc. to develop a vaccine against potential pandemic influenza viruses, including the H5N1 bird flu.

The company said it was notified Wednesday (May 28, 2025) that the Health and Human Services Department had withdrawn funds awarded in July 2024 and in January to pay for the development and purchase of its investigational vaccine.

The funds were awarded through the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, a program that focuses on medical treatments for potential pandemics.

The new vaccine, called mRNA-1018, utilises the same technology that enabled the rapid development and rollout of vaccines to combat COVID-19.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has expressed deep scepticism regarding mRNA vaccines, despite real-world evidence that the vaccines are safe and have saved millions of lives.

The cancelation came as Moderna announced positive interim results from an early-stage trial of the vaccine that targeted H5 bird flu virus, tested in 300 healthy adults.

“While the termination of funding from HHS adds uncertainty, we are pleased by the robust immune response and safety profile observed in this interim analysis,” the company said in a statement.

H5N1 bird flu viruses spread from wild birds into cattle in the U.S. last year, infecting hundreds of animals in several states. At least 70 people in the U.S. have been sickened by bird flu infections, mostly mild. One person died. Scientists fear that continued mutation of the virus could allow it to become more virulent or more easily spread in people, with the possibility that it could trigger a pandemic.

Moderna received $176 million in July 2024 and $590 million in January. The January award would have supported a late-stage clinical trial that could have determined the vaccine’s efficacy against pandemic viruses, including bird flu, a company spokesman said.