Moderna, Novavax Shares Are Tumbling Monday: What's Going On?

Vaccine stocks are trading lower Monday following a shakeup at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

What Happened: Peter Marks has resigned from his role at the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. According to a Bloomberg report, Marks was a top regulator at the FDA and played a key role in pushing quick approvals of vaccines during the Covid pandemic.

Moderna Inc MRNA shares were down 13.5% at $26.88 and Novavax Inc NVAX shares were down 9.6% at $6.30 at last check. The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF XBI was down about 5.76% at publication time, according to Benzinga Pro.

The report indicates that Marks was also responsible for the FDA’s evaluation of cutting-edge treatments like cell therapies and gene therapies. He reportedly cited some issues with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in his resignation letter.

"I was willing to work to address the Secretary's concerns regarding vaccine safety and transparency," Marks reportedly said in the letter.

"However it has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the Secretary, but rather he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies."

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The news comes after vaccine stocks came under pressure last week following reports The Trump administration plans to end financial support for vaccine alliance Gavi, which helps buy vaccines for children in developing countries. The Trump administration reportedly plans to cut billions in global health initiatives.

Moderna was awarded $590 million by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in January to continue developing a vaccine to protect against bird flu. The Trump administration was reportedly reconsidering that funding as of last month.

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