Moderna (MRNA) said late Friday it has been awarded $590 million by the US Department of Health and Human Services for the development of mRNA-based influenza vaccines.

The project will back the late-stage development and licensure of pre-pandemic mRNA-based vaccines and support the expansion of trials for up to five additional subtypes of pandemic influenza, the company said.

Moderna said that it launched a phase 1/2 trial in 2023 to get safety and immunogenicity data of a candidate pandemic influenza vaccine, mRNA-1018, in adults. The trial included vaccine candidates against the H5 and H7 bird flu viruses.

Based on positive preliminary results from the phase 1/2 trial, the company said it is preparing to move mRNA-1018 into phase 3.

Moderna shares were rising 3.7% in after-hours activity.

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