US vaccine policy creates ‘huge opportunity’ for Europe

U.S. research cuts and vaccine skepticism have delivered Europe an opportunity to establish itself as a leader in science — especially developing in immunizations.

That’s particularly true for innovative technologies like mRNA — scientists’ latest vaccine discovery first used in the Covid-19 shots.

Since taking office in January 2025, the Trump administration has slashed funding for the National Institutes of Health, repeatedly suggested a link between vaccines and autism, canceled hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for mRNA vaccine research and overhauled a committee of vaccine experts.

This allowed Europe to siphon researchers and vaccines developers and champion its medicines regulator for it steadfast scientific positions.

“I see a huge opportunity for the [European Medicines Agency] to become more of a key reference for countries,” said Heidi Larson, professor of anthropology, risk and decision science at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and founding director of the Vaccine Confidence Project.

“They’re an incredibly valuable asset for Europe and, in the current environment, [they] could play an even more important global role,” she told POLITICO.

The European Medicines Agency — the European Union’s drugs regulator — has long positioned itself as a trustworthy beacon of science.

“We can provide fact-based, neutral information” to vaccine and drug developers, EMA Executive Director Emer Cooke told journalists Wednesday during an event at its office in Amsterdam. “We want to be there ... as a source of trusted information that you can rely on.”

Novel mRNA technology is one area where Europe could lead.

The Trump administration canceled some $500 million in grants and contracts dedicated to mRNA research and development last year.

“We reviewed the science, listened to the experts and acted,” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said at the time. The U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority terminated 22 mRNA vaccine development investments “because the data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu,” he said. Funding would shift toward “safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate,” Kennedy added.

For researchers and developers, however, this sent a signal.

“Some of the policies being promoted [by the U.S.] are just not reliable,” said Larson, who is also founding director of the Vaccine Confidence Project. “Public decisions like not funding mRNA sends a signal that they don’t trust it,” she added.

“You have a vacuum created by the U.S. right now,” said Sibilia Quilici, head of industry lobby Vaccines Europe. “Europe, especially EMA, has already communicated … that they are welcoming the mRNA innovation happening here in Europe.”

Some developers are already choosing Europe for their work.

“We are seeing developers increasingly come to EMA first, particularly in areas such as mRNA technology, because they trust our scientific approach and our ability to engage with innovative technologies,” Marco Cavaleri, head of public health threats at the EMA, told POLITICO. “[The] EMA has become an important reference point globally for regulatory science.”

The EU was the first market globally to authorize Moderna’s combination Covid-19 and influenza shot this year. In the U.S., Moderna faced setbacks after the Food and Drug Administration asked for more data for its flu shot.

But being a scientific powerhouse is not enough.

“Obviously, the U.S. remains a huge market, and Europe needs to keep working to attract innovation,” Cavaleri said.

Despite its commitment to supporting biotechnology innovation, Europe is still grappling with a fragmented market, pricing and reimbursement challenges and unstable manufacturing capacities.

This year alone, German biotech BioNTech announced it was closing its Covid-19 vaccines manufacturing sites in Germany, slashing one-fifth of its workforce, or up to 1,800 jobs, and British pharmaceutical company GSK said it was shutting a vaccine factory in Germany.

“mRNA is a crucial technology platform for vaccines that we must have the capacity to produce in Europe at all costs,” said Renew MEP Stine Bosse, who is pushing to ensure technology platforms such as mRNA are eligible for more incentives under the Biotech Act.

Europe has “strong regulatory systems,” said Quilici, with the EMA and national medicines authorities “doing fantastic work in ensuring rigorous and evidence-based review of any technologies, any products.”

The new EU Biotech Act also recognizes the importance of the sector, including vaccine developers, she said.

But funding remains Europe’s “weakest point,” Quilici said. “Should Europe decide to invest seriously in its immunization innovation, manufacturing and access, it has a unique opportunity to gain a competitive edge.”