How Moderna Went From Pandemic Hero to Vaccine Victim

Biotech's mRNA vaccines were lauded by the first Trump administration but now are caught up in govt changes to vaccine rules

- Jared S. Hopkins & Peter Loftus

Moderna was once a darling of the first Trump administration, which went to great lengths to help the company develop its Covid-19 vaccine that protected millions of people from the virus. Now the biotech is caught in the crossfire of Trump 2.0 as vaccine-making comes under fire.

In the latest setback for Moderna, the Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved its next-generation Covid shot for a narrower population of patients than the company intended. The approval grants use of the vaccine only in older adults and people aged 12 to 64 with health risks.

Moderna is in a precarious position. The company bet big on mRNA, the underlying technology powering its vaccines, to develop shots that could treat or prevent different diseases. But after securing riches from its Covid shot, it failed to diversify its pipeline. That has become detrimental for Moderna as the Trump administration casts a critical eye on the technology and seeks to reshape the regulation, recommendations and development of vaccines.

The Department of Health and Human Services recently canceled a contract worth $766 million that was awarded to Moderna to develop mRNA-based vaccines for pandemic-level influenza including bird flu. The FDA released a new framework for approving Covid vaccines, introducing more stringent rules that require more testing. And Moderna withdrew its application with the FDA for its flu-Covid combo shot, which analysts said could have been because it fell short of the new standards.

The beleaguered company is seeking to cut costs and find a path forward postpandemic. Its shares have fallen about 35% this year because of low demand for the Covid shot and disappointing sales of its respiratory-syncytial-virus vaccine. Moderna's share price, which peaked in 2021 at $484, has dropped to prepandemic levels of about $25.