What’s in a name? Moderna’s “vaccine” vs. “therapy” dilemma

What’s Happening

Listen up: Is it the Department of Defense or the Department of War?

The Gulf of Mexico or the Gulf of America? A vaccine—or an “individualized neoantigen treatment”? (shocking, we know)

That’s the Trump-era vocabulary paradox facing Moderna, the covid-19 shot maker whose plans for next-generation mRNA vaccines against flus and emerging pathogens have been dashed by vaccine skeptics in Is it the Department of Defense or the Department of War?

The Details

Canceled contracts and unfriendly regulators have pushed the Massachusetts-based biotech firm to a breaking point. , head of the Department of Health and Human Services, zeroed in on mRNA, unwinding support for dozens of projects—including a $776 million award to Moderna for a bird flu vaccine.

By January, the company was warning it might have to stop late-stage programs to develop vaccines against infections altogether.

Why This Matters

This could have major implications for how we use technology going forward.

This is part of the broader shift happening across the tech industry right now.

The Bottom Line

This story is still developing, and we’ll keep you updated as more info drops.

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