US awards new US$628m contract to boost output of potential Covid-19 vaccine

[WASHINGTON] The US government on Monday entered into a US$628 million contract with drugmaker Emergent BioSolutions to boost manufacturing capacity for a potential Covid-19 vaccine.

As drugmakers race to develop vaccines, tests and therapies for the disease, the United States is looking to secure manufacturing capacity under its "Operation Warp Speed" programme announced in May to accelerate vaccine development.

"Securing more manufacturing capacity here in America for candidates that make it to the final stages of Operation Warp Speed will help get a vaccine to American patients without a day wasted," Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement.

The HHS task order with Emergent falls under an existing contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (Barda), a US federal agency that funds disease-fighting technology.

Under the contract, Emergent will commit its manufacturing facilities, valued at US$542.7 million, to produce Covid-19 vaccine candidates through 2021.

The Barda award secures capacity for drug manufacturing at the company's Baltimore Bayview facility, established in 2012 with HHS, and designed for rapid manufacturing of large quantities of vaccines and treatments during public health emergencies, the company said in a statement.

The task order also includes an investment of US$85.5 million to expand Emergent's viral and non-viral drug manufacturing capacity.

So far, Barda has invested more than US$2 billion in Covid-19 vaccines and funded over 30 projects, including for diagnostics and treatments.

The agency has awarded grants to Moderna, the first in the United States to begin human trials of a coronavirus vaccine, Sanofi, Johnson & Johnson and British drugmaker AstraZeneca.

Emergent has been working with Johnson & Johnson, Novavax and Vaxart to develop and manufacture their Covid-19 vaccine candidates. 

REUTERS