Moderna gets .gov bird flu contract
I can't wait to get triple jabbed...
Moderna Scores Federal Funding For mRNA Bird Flu Vaccine As Pandemic Fears Grow
Robert Hart
Forbes Staff
Jul 2, 2024
Moderna has secured $176 million in federal funding to develop mRNA vaccines against a potential bird flu pandemic, the Boston-based company announced Tuesday, a move that could bolster U.S. vaccine stockpiles as health officials and experts worry the highly contagious H5N1 influenza virus tearing through poultry farms and cattle herds could spread to humans .
Japan Struggles To Contain Bird Flu Outbreak
Bird flu has been infecting cows in the U.S. GETTY IMAGES
Moderna said the U.S. government funds will bankroll “late-stage development for an mRNA-based vaccine” against H5 influenza virus to enable a “pre-pandemic” shot to be licensed.
Flu viruses are classified by two proteins on the surface of the virus, hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N), and the research will cover the new strain of H5N1 avian influenza that has been spreading among animals worldwide since 2020 but causing increasing alarm among experts this year as it began showing up in more mammals, notably livestock like dairy cattle in the U.S., as well as occasionally infecting humans.
Funding for the project comes from the government’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, often just Barda, the agency tasked with defending the country against future health threats like pandemics, emerging infectious diseases, biological and chemical weapons and other public health emergencies.
Moderna began early stage clinical trials of an mRNA pandemic flu vaccine in 2023, including shots against the H5 and H7 strains known for their potential to mutate into highly virulent and lethal forms, and said results from the study are expected at some point in 2024.
These results will inform late-stage development plans for the vaccine candidate, Moderna said.
The agreement includes “additional options to prepare and accelerate a response to future public health threats,” Moderna added, though the company did not specify details of the agreement or elaborate on the nature of the potential threats it would cover.
Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said “mRNA vaccine technology offers advantages in efficacy, speed of development, and production scalability and reliability in addressing infectious disease outbreaks,” all of which were demonstrated during their rapid development and rollout during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Moderna also received Barda funding. “We are pleased to continue our collaboration with Barda to expedite our development efforts for mRNA-based pandemic influenza vaccines and support the global public health community in preparedness against potential outbreaks,” Bancel said.
The COVID-19 pandemic marked a breakthrough for mRNA vaccines and it marked the first time they had been approved despite decades of research from hundreds of scientists. Manufacturing and developing vaccines has historically been a relatively tortuous affair, probably lasting at least a decade for a completely new shot. This is largely due to the logistics involved in safely developing and testing shots against new strains, as well as the nature of producing them at scale. The mRNA vaccines shone in the pandemic because they can be designed, altered and produced far more quickly than traditional vaccines and, through companies like Moderna, Pfizer and BioNTech, they were the first to reach the market in the U.S. and many other countries. As an adaptable and quickly mobilized platform, mRNA vaccines have naturally been tapped as a potential countermeasure for emerging threats as well, in addition to a slew of other commonplace infectious diseases as well, such as flu and RSV, as well as for treating cancer. Moderna was one of several private companies to work with Barda on COVID-19 countermeasures during the pandemic, including ramping up production of its highly successful Spikevax shot and developing boosters targeting variants like omicron.
Barda is funding the Moderna mRNA project through a newly formed Rapid Response Partnership Vehicle (RRPV) consortium of medical technology, vaccines and therapeutics specialists designed to “address evolving needs including pandemic influenza, emerging infectious diseases, and other biological threats.” The group made its first award of $25.5 million in May to clinical research group Allucent in order to study next-generation COVID-19 booster vaccines. In June, it disbursed around $550 million to four companies to fund clinical trials into next-generation coronavirus vaccines, including several needleless options and notably a $450 million grant to Vaxart for its oral vaccine candidate. The group is also seeking laboratories that would be able to perform testing in the event of a viral pandemic, including influenza.
H5N1 has spread globally among wild bird populations for several years now but has started showing up more in mammals, such as marine wildlife and domestic herds like dairy cattle in the U.S. H5 bird flu is of particular concern to scientists as it has demonstrated an ability to evolve into highly pathogenic and lethal forms in the past and this strain has devastated both domestic and wild bird populations worldwide. The virus is also considered to have pandemic potential among humans, which could cause devastation on a scale that could easily eclipse COVID-19.
HOW COULD AVIAN FLU (H5N1) TURN INTO A PANDEMIC?
Such a pandemic would require the virus to infect humans and consistently spread between them without animals acting as an intermediary. Though there have been several instances of H5 infections in humans in the U.S. in recent months, scientists stress the risks of outbreaks are limited as the virus has been contracted following close contact with animals and hasn’t spread to others, suggesting infection is neither easy nor readily transmitted. Increasing infections among and between mammals are cause for concern, however, as they show an adaptation to a biological system more closely resembling that of humans. Infections occurring among domestic animals, notably dairy herds, compound concern, as these are animals a relatively large number of people come into contact with in some shape or form, such as workers or in dairy products that may contain the virus, increasing the chances of exposure and mutation into a form that takes off. Risks are difficult to quantify on account of the many unknown variables at play. Experts and officials have claimed we are largely flying in the dark on account of the lack of data surrounding the outbreak and many have criticized lax testing requirements and containment measures put in place to stem the tide.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberth...ic-fears-grow/
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