Moderna Inc. is closing a deal with the U.S. government to develop vaccines against a range of biological threats including Ebola, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The potential deal with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) would see Moderna’s mRNA technology being used to develop a vaccine targeting the Ebola strain responsible for the disease’s outbreak in Uganda, the report said.
Uganda declared the Ebola outbreak in September, and the disease has claimed 30 lives so far with the number of confirmed cases rising to 109.
Moderna’s shot would also target the more common Zaire strain of Ebola and the related Marburg virus, the report added.
Moderna did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
“While the Department (of Defense) cannot discuss future awards, DoD has strategic investments focused on technologies that address the dynamic and evolving biological threat landscape, including mRNA vaccine technologies and Filoviruses,” the DoD said, when asked for comment on the report.
The Bloomberg report said it was unlikely that Moderna’s candidate would be ready to use in time to address the burst of cases in Uganda.
