Commissioner Marty Makary says funding shift reflects policy priorities, not hostility toward messenger RNA technology.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary said Feb. 23 that the agency is not opposed to vaccines developed using messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) technology, responding to questions following the FDA’s recent handling of a Moderna influenza vaccine application.
“I think that would be quite a stretch, to say we’re not embracing mRNA vaccines. We’ve approved two mRNA vaccines at the beginning of my time,” Makary told reporters in Washington.
The FDA in 2025 approved a new mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine and updated authorizations for two existing mRNA COVID-19 shots. Regulators also expanded approval for Moderna’s mRNA vaccine targeting respiratory syncytial virus.
Makary’s comments came during an event focused on streamlining drug approvals for rare diseases. A reporter asked whether the government appeared to support genome-editing therapies while distancing itself from mRNA products.
“I would love to see the data on mRNA helping patients with cancer and a number of conditions,” Makary said. “Our job is to review applications that come in the door. And if the data support the claims that want to be made, we will approve that product.”
Pharmaceutical companies including Moderna and Merck are testing mRNA-based cancer treatments. During a 2025 federal committee meeting, Dr. Wafik El-Deiry, director of the Legorreta Cancer Center at Brown University, said some preliminary data indicate mRNA vaccines could cause cancer. Moderna has disputed that claim.
The FDA recently rejected Moderna’s application for an mRNA-based influenza vaccine, citing concerns that the company relied on a weak comparator vaccine in clinical trials. On Feb. 18, the agency said it would review the application after Moderna agreed to refile under a different pathway for older adults and committed to conducting a new trial if the product receives approval.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees the FDA, has also faced criticism for reducing federal investment in mRNA research. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last summer canceled approximately $500 million in contracts supporting mRNA vaccine and drug research.
“The data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu,” Kennedy said in a post on X at the time.
The redirected funds were allocated to a National Institutes of Health project pursuing universal flu and coronavirus vaccines using alternative technology.
“There was funding for mRNA technology at HHS,” Makary said Monday. “That funding was pivoted to other causes, and I’ll tell you why. It’s not because we don’t believe in mRNA technology. It’s because the companies that made mRNA vaccines made over $50 billion, they can fund their own research. It doesn’t have to be on the backs of American taxpayers.”
Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech generated billions of dollars in revenue from their mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. Moderna’s vaccine development included federal funding support, while BioNTech received backing from the German government.
“We should be funding research that is otherwise not getting funded, that has no money for funding, such as funding for bespoke conditions and rare diseases, conditions that have been in the blind spots of modern medicine,” Makary added. “Our job as regulators is to be a referee, and we just want to see good science.”
The agency’s position, Makary said, is grounded in scientific review standards rather than technology preference, with approvals dependent on evidence submitted in formal applications.
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