Moderna receives financial support for development of avian flu vaccine
Moderna, the biotech company, receives financial support from the US government for the development of its Bird Flu vaccine. The US government granted a financial injection of over 176 million Dollars, as Moderna announced on Tuesday. The funds will be used for the final development and testing of a pandemic mRNA-based Bird Flu vaccine against the H5N1-Bird Flu virus.
In the USA, the outbreak of Bird Flu in dairy cows since spring has caused concern. In March, US authorities reported the first outbreak of the H5N1-Virus in dairy cows. Since then, more than 130 herds have been infected in twelve states. Scientists are concerned that contact with the Virus in poultry and dairy farms could increase the risk that the Virus mutates and thus comes closer to transmission between humans.
Moderna started a study of its Bird Flu vaccine mRNA-1018 with healthy adults last year. This study included both the currently circulating H5-Subtype and the H7-Subtype of Bird Flu. The results of this study are expected this year.
Moderna's Impfstoff uses the mRNA-Technology, which was also used in the company's COVID-19 vaccine. "The mRNA vaccine technology offers advantages in terms of effectiveness, development speed and production scalability and reliability in combating infectious diseases, as shown during the COVID-19 pandemic," explained Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel. The production of traditional Flu vaccines can take four to six months.
- The financial support of 176 million Dollars from the US government is vital for Moderna's development of an avian flu vaccine, specifically targeting the H5N1-Bird Flu virus.
- Moderna's avian flu vaccine, named mRNA-1018, received substantial backing from the US government, which is investing over a million Dollars to support its final development and testing.
- The successful development of Moderna's avian flu vaccine, leveraging its mRNA technology, could potentially save millions of dollars in comparison to traditional flu vaccine production methods, as discussed by Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel.
