Overview

• HHS has formally cancelled 22 grants totaling nearly $500 million for mRNA vaccine studies after previously terminating Moderna’s $766 million flu-vaccine contract in May.
• NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya publicly defended the move in an op-ed, arguing that mRNA technology “failed to earn the public’s trust.”
• The Alliance for mRNA Medicines and other industry groups called the cuts “unscientific and misguided,” predicting a chilling effect on private investment.
• Researchers caution that the funding pullback risks derailing mRNA applications beyond infectious-disease vaccines, including cancer therapeutics and personalized treatments.
• Public-health experts warn that withdrawing US support could weaken national pandemic preparedness even as WHO-led programs and other countries advance mRNA platforms.