Why vaccine makers aren't worried about Trump administration cuts
Large and mid-cap vaccine makers are, as of now, unworried about their 2025 pipelines in the face of research funding declines by the Trump administration and a drop in biotech funding.
That's what some of the top vaccine-maker executives told Yahoo Finance this week at the World Vaccine Congress in Washington, D.C.
These executives believe there will be no impact from the funding cuts and policies coming down from the Trump administration, while others view it as a four-year storm they will just have to weather before being able to carry on as usual afterward.
"We're in this for the long game. We believe in vaccines, in the value of vaccines, and what they bring to public health. Infectious diseases aren't going to go away, so the need for vaccines is going to remain long-term," said Sally Mossman, head of research portfolio strategy at Sanofi (SNY).
While large-cap pharma companies can fund most of their research and development internally, they have been known to rely on federal funding for the earliest stages of research via partnerships with research agencies like the National Institutes of Health (NIH). They also partner with smaller biotech companies and academic research centers.
But that dynamic is drastically changing under the Trump administration.
The NIH has already slashed billions in research funding for top universities and cut funding for one mRNA vaccine study and other studies related to vaccine access and hesitancy. (The trickle-up effect on large caps is yet to be determined.) At the same time, funding for biotech — potential partners or acquisition targets for the big players — is also on the decline as investors continue to lose interest in the post-pandemic world.
The view from executives at Pfizer (PFE), Moderna (MRNA), GSK (GSK), Sanofi, and Merck (MRK)? They'll be fine in the long run.
Each company has between a dozen and two dozen vaccine candidates actively being developed and tested in its pipeline. Despite recent announcements of cuts and key leadership departures at the FDA, the companies have not experienced any disruptions in communicating with the FDA about the progress of these vaccines.
GSK global medical lead for vaccines Rafik Bekkat-Berkani said that paying attention to the (short-term) noise was important, but "whether we need to let this noise dictate what we do, the answer is no."
Sanofi's Mossman noted that as the company focuses on the US versus global markets, one goal is always to ensure a return on investment for whatever vaccine is being developed.
It's no wonder since vaccines make up a good chunk of revenue, even for large-cap pharmaceuticals with diversified portfolios. Among the companies present, UK-based GSK and France-based Sanofi saw vaccines sales account for about 25% of total revenues in 2024. Pfizer counted its top-selling vaccines as 20% of its $64 billion in revenues last year. Merck saw top-selling vaccine sales contribute less than 20% to its $64 billion in revenues.
Moderna is the most heavily reliant on federal funding for some of its pipeline candidates and has only two vaccines on the market: its COVID-19 vaccine and a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine for older adults. The two contributed 100% to the company's $3.2 billion in sales last year.
Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has expressed an interest in eliminating some childhood vaccines due to concerns about their potential impacts on children. That doesn't worry the companies as much, because adult vaccines are a newer and profitable market to target, the executives said.
"I think we have to recognize ... the low-hanging fruit's already (done) to a large degree," Merck associate vice president of vaccines Jeffrey Roberts said.
It's why more novel viruses and diseases are being targeted — and those that have been targeted globally for some time, like Lyme disease. Other areas are in early stages, like a vaccine for acne at Sanofi.
Mossman explained that while some might consider acne an unimportant target, she sees it as a solution to an inflammatory skin problem for about 22 million patients.
Merck's Roberts said the remaining vaccines to target are "tough nuts to crack."
Which is why the group collectively waved off any threats from the Trump administration's moves.
"It comes down to 'Don't worry about the money. If you make something that has value, people are going to value it,'" Roberts said.
Anjalee Khemlani is the senior health reporter at Yahoo Finance, covering all things pharma, insurance, care services, digital health, PBMs, and health policy and politics. That includes GLP-1s, of course. Follow Anjalee on social media platforms X, LinkedIn, and Bluesky @AnjKhem.
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