Venture financing for mRNA-based innovator vaccines saw an 82% decline from $510 million in 2023 to $90 million in 2025 year-to-date (YTD). In addition, the US Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) $500 million cut in grant support for mRNA vaccine projects announced in August 2025 has created uncertainty for biotech developers and may shift investor focus toward non-vaccine applications of mRNA technology, says GlobalData, a leading data analytics and research company.

Alison Labya, Senior Business Fundamentals Pharma Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The success of mRNA vaccines—notably Pfizer’s Comirnaty and Moderna’s Spikevax—against the COVID-19 pandemic fueled investor confidence, and spurred efforts to expand mRNA technology beyond vaccines into therapeutics across oncology and genetic disorders.”

According to GlobalData’s Pharmaceutical Intelligence Center Deals Database, venture financing for companies developing innovator mRNA-based drugs more than halved from $1.1 billion in 2023 to $488 million in 2024, recovering slightly to $539 million by 2025YTD.

Oncology and infectious diseases were the top therapy areas for venture financing involving mRNA-based drugs, totaling $1.3 billion and $936 million, respectively, over the 2023 to 2025YTD period.

Oncology and infectious diseases also accounted for the largest numbers of mRNA-based drugs in active development, with 32% and 31% of drugs in the discovery and preclinical stages respectively, and 22% and 65% of drugs in the combined clinical, pre-registration or marketed stages, according to GlobalData’s Pharmaceutical Intelligence Center Drugs Database.

Labya continues: “For therapy areas outside of infectious disease and oncology, 91% of the total mRNA-based drugs remain in the preclinical or discovery stages of development with no marketed drugs, reflecting hurdles such as achieving targeted delivery and minimizing immunogenicity.”

Since the HHS’ funding cuts primarily target mRNA vaccines for infectious diseases, investor interest may shift towards other applications of mRNA technology. Following the HHS announcement, the largest round of venture financing for mRNA-based drugs was received by US-based biotech Strand Therapeutics in August 2025, raising $153 million in venture financing towards the development of its portfolio of mRNA-based drugs.

Labya concludes: “The Trump administration’s efforts to scale back federal support for mRNA-based vaccines could disrupt early-stage drug development and create investor uncertainty impacting subsequent private investment. This could shift future investment towards biotech companies and capital sources outside of the US.”

For further insights into the latest Deal Trends in the Pharma Sector, please see GlobalData’s Venture Capital Investment Trends In Pharma – Q2 2025 and M&A Trends in Pharma – Q2 2025 reports.

Note: Includes all announced and completed venture financing deals for companies headquartered globally from 2023 to 2025YTD where at least one drug involved is an innovator mRNA-based drug versus mRNA vaccine, with active development stages (Marketed, Pre-Registration, Phase III, Phase II, Phase I, Preclinical, and Discovery) considered. Includes deals that have disclosed their deal value in the public domain. YTD = year-to-date.