Moderna receives 590 million US dollars to accelerate vaccine development

The US government has provided Moderna with an additional $590 million to advance the development of pandemic influenza vaccines. While health experts are currently battling a dangerous avian flu on dairy farms, this investment is a crucial step in expanding medical defensive mechanisms. This financial injection aims to accelerate the advanced development and approval of mRNA-based vaccines and expand testing for up to five other subtypes of pandemic influenza, as announced on Friday. Already in July, Moderna secured $176 million to accelerate an mRNA vaccine against pandemic flu, after the technology proved highly effective in combating Covid. The renewed funding comes amid heightened vigilance by US health authorities, who regularly stress the urgency of rapid testing in hospitalized patients to detect and isolate the avian flu virus at an early stage. Moderna's shares responded positively to the news, rising by up to 7% after the market closed. Nevertheless, the company has faced a two-thirds decline in value over the past twelve months.