The Department of Health and Human Services is cancelling hundreds of millions of dollars in funding pledged to Moderna to help the company develop, test, and license mRNA-based vaccines to combat pandemic flu viruses, including bird flu in humans.

The company said it was notified Wednesday that the agency had terminated the funding awarded by the Biden administration for the late-stage development and right to purchase pre-pandemic influenza vaccines.

The funds were awarded through the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a program that focuses on rapid development of medical treatments for public health emergencies.

Biden administration officials committed last summer to award $176 million, and then an additional $590 million in January, as bird flu spread a

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