$750 Million Blackstone Agreement Funds mRNA Flu Shot Development

Blackstone announced today a new collaboration with Moderna, Inc. through a development and commercialization funding agreement which will provide up to $750 million to fund Moderna's influenza vaccine program.

Under the terms of the agreement announced on March 27, 2024, Blackstone Life Sciences (BXLS) will be eligible to receive milestones and royalties on resultant Moderna's influenza products. 

Moderna will recognize the funding as a reduction in research and development expenses and will retain full rights and control of the Company's influenza program.

"Moderna has demonstrated a remarkable ability to impact human health through mRNA vaccines targeting respiratory illnesses. This landmark collaboration is another example of our long-standing strategy to partner with the world's leading life science companies to advance their critical path vaccines, medicines, and medical technologies to patients," said Nicholas Galakatos, Ph.D., Global Head of BXLA, in a press release.

Updated information about Moderna's flu program can be found at https://investors.modernatx.com/. 

In the United States, flu shot distributions have been decreasing.

As of March 2024, the U.S. CDC reported about 158 million flu vaccines, egg, cell, and nasal-based, had been distributed during the 2023-2024 season. This data compares with 173 million distributed during the 2022-2023 flu season and 194 million during the 201-2022 season.