TUESDAY, Jan. 21, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is awarding the pharmaceutical company Moderna $590 million to continue developing a vaccine to protect against bird flu.

The funding, which follows the $176 million the government awarded Moderna in June 2024, aims to get mRNA vaccines ready before bird flu strains currently circulating in the wild and on farms can potentially cause human outbreaks.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will award roughly $590 million to Moderna to accelerate the development of mRNA-based pandemic influenza vaccines, including vaccines for avian flu strains, to ensure the United States is better prepared for future potential pandemics, according to a recent HHS news release.

Moderna has been awarded approximately $590 million from the federal government to help speed up the development of an mRNA-based bird flu vaccine, health officials said.

Moderna Inc (NASDAQ:MRNA) stock is trading higher with a session volume of 8.0 million as per data from Benzinga Pro. On Friday, Moderna announced ongoing support from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to accelerate the development of mRNA-based pandemic influenza vaccines.

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) today announced ongoing support from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to accelerate the development of mRNA-based pandemic influenza vaccines. The award was made

The U.S. government has awarded Moderna $590 million to advance the development of its bird flu vaccine, as the country doubles down on efforts to tackle increasing infections in humans.

The US Department of Health and Human Services will award $590 million to Moderna to continue developing a vaccine to protect against bird flu, the pharmaceutical company announced Friday.

"$590m to Moderna from HHS for mRNA ‘flu vax development" was originally created and published by Pharmaceutical Technology, a GlobalData owned brand.

Moderna will also advance clinical trials for an H7N9 influenza vaccine and explore additional vaccine candidates targeting other influenza subtypes. “Avian flu variants have proven to be particularly unpredictable and dangerous to humans in the past.

As avian flu outbreaks continue to hit US poultry farm s and backyard flocks, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed more H5N1 detections in five states, including a second commercial chicken farm in Georgia, the nation's top broiler-producing state.