The US Department of Health and Human Services is terminating a contract with drugmaker Moderna to develop a vaccine to protect against bird flu amid the agency’s broader efforts to reevaluate therapies that use mRNA technology.

HHS has notified Moderna that it is canceling a nearly $600 million contract for vaccines for flu strains that could trigger future pandemics.

In a startling pandemic preparedness development, Moderna yesterday announced that US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has terminated a $590 million award it received in January for late-stage development of a candidate mRNA vaccine against H5 avian influenza and the development of other prepandemic vaccine candidates.