Richard H. Hughes, IV, Member of the Firm in the Health Care & Life Sciences practice, in the firm’s Washington, DC, office, was quoted in The Washington Post, in “RFK Jr. Announces End to Some mRNA Contracts, Including for Flu, Covid,” by Carolyn Y. Johnson, Rachel Roubein. (Read the full version – subscription required.)
Following is an excerpt:
The targeting of the vaccine technology once considered revolutionary follows intense criticism by conservatives and anti-vaccine activists. …
The Trump administration has denigrated mRNA vaccines as a dangerous technology, but large-scale studies have established that they are safe and effective.
Some public health and vaccine experts criticized the administration’s moves as detrimental to the nation’s ability to fight diseases and expand its biomedical arsenal.
“If you’re a smaller biotech or just a smaller manufacturer, it really can discourage a company from making further investments,” said Richard Hughes IV, a former vice president of public policy at the mRNA vaccine manufacturer Moderna who now teaches vaccine law at the George Washington University Law School.
Related reading:
- August 6, 2025: Bloomberg Law Health Law & Business, “RFK Jr. mRNA Cuts Threaten Vaccine Development, Crisis Response,” by Ian Lopez.
The Trump administration’s move to cut off funding for new vaccine projects that use the groundbreaking mRNA technology credited with saving millions of lives during Covid 19 will stifle new drug development and hobble the country’s ability to weather future pandemics, health policy professionals warn. …
The move cuts against the mission of the HHS’ Center for Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, the agency responsible for pushing out vaccines, treatments, and diagnostics to combat public health threats, observers say. It also marks a major setback for the technology behind mRNA vaccines, the technology widely credited with curbing the global Covid-19 pandemic, and used in both the Moderna and Pfizer Covid vaccines in the US. …
Kennedy has said the HHS will shift funding toward different vaccine platforms. …
BARDA functions to respond to a host of medical emergencies, including infectious diseases and pandemic influenza.
The agency’s “most important role is gap filling—supporting research that is important to pandemic preparedness but may not otherwise attract private sector investment,” said Richard Hughes IV, a lawyer at Epstein Becker & Green PC and a former Moderna executive.
- August 6, 2025: The Independent, “Doctors Decry RFK Jr Decision to Slash mRNA Vaccine Grants: ‘Our Nation Will Pay in Lives,’” by Julia Musto.
Doctors are sounding the alarm about potentially deadly consequences of the Trump administration’s decision to slash $500 million in funding for mRNA vaccine development, saying the “deeply troubling” move could leave Americans defenseless in the face of a biological attack, or another pandemic. …
Research also has been underway to produce mRNA vaccines against cancer and other infectious diseases, work that has been going on for decades.
“While most would associate mRNA vaccine technology with Covid, it was in development for over half a century and the U.S. government’s partnership in that development goes back decades,” Richard Hughes IV, a former vice president of public policy at mRNA vaccine manufacturer Moderna who teaches vaccine law at George Washington University Law School, told The Independent.
“These kinds of partnerships are what drive innovation and save us from public health emergencies. When we lose this kind of progress, we create future public health risks.”
- August 6, 2025: The Week, “RFK Jr. Shuts Down mRNA Vaccine Funding at Agency,” by Peter Weber.
Heath Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Tuesday he had ordered a "coordinated wind-down" of mRNA vaccine development programs at the government's biodefense agency. The decision canceled or modified 22 projects worth nearly $500 million, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses including influenza, H5N1 bird flu and Covid-19, according to the Health and Human Services Department. …
Researchers worldwide are also "exploring" mRNA's "use for cancer immunotherapies," with notable success treating colorectal cancer, said the AP. HHS said Tuesday that "other uses of mRNA technology within the department are not impacted by this announcement." But "if you're a smaller biotech or just a smaller manufacturer," these mRNA cuts "really can discourage a company from making further investments," said Richard Hughes IV, a vaccine law teacher at George Washington University, to the Post.
