As of June, seven companies had been chosen for funding from Operation Warp Speed to expedite development and preparation for manufacturing their respective vaccine candidates: Johnson & Johnson (Janssen Pharmaceutical), AstraZeneca-University of Oxford, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Merck, Vaxart, and Inovio.[49][50] Funding from BARDA totaled more than $2 billion by the end of June, with the largest awards of $1.2 billion given to AstraZeneca and $483 million to Moderna.[49]
In June 2020, BARDA and the U.S. Department of Defenses signed a $143 million contract with SiO2 Materials Science to ramp up production of vials and syringes used for COVID drugs and vaccines.[51]
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) office responsible for the procurement and development of medical countermeasures, principally against bioterrorism, including chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threats, as well as pandemic influenza and emerging diseases.[1]: 140 BARDA was established in 2006 through the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA) and reports to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR). The office manages Project BioShield, which funds the research, development and stockpiling of vaccines and treatments that the government could use during public health emergencies such as chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) attacks.[1]: 140
In addition to preparing and maintaining bioterrorism responses and countermeasures, HHS, through the ASPR and BARDA, prepares and maintains an integrated system of medical countermeasures for both known or unknown, and re-emerging or novel types of public health emergencies. These include diagnostic tools, therapeutics, such as antibiotics and antivirals, and preventative measures, such as vaccines.BARDA is an established, official interface between the U.S. federal government and the biomedical industry.
BARDA also participates in the governmental inter-agency Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise (PHEMCE), providing coordination across the US federal government in developing and deploying such countermeasures.[1]: 267
BARDA works with the biomedical industry, using grants and other assistance, to promote advanced research, innovation and the development of medical devices, tests, vaccines and therapeutics. BARDA also procures and maintains stockpiles of materials, such as drugs, personal protective equipment (PPE) and vaccines, for the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS).
Operation Warp Speed, initially funded with about $10 billion from the CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) passed by the United States Congress on March 27, 2020,[1] was an interagency program that includes components of the Department of Health and Human Services, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA); the Department of Defense; private firms; and other federal agencies, including the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Operation Warp Speed used BARDA as the financial interface between the U.S. federal government and the biomedical industry.[20] The program was initially being funded with $10 billion,[1] with additional funds allocated through BARDA.[1] Funding was increased to about $18 billion by October 2020.[21]
Rick Bright, the BARDA director, was reassigned on or about April 22, 2020, following his resistance to (as he phrased it) "efforts to fund potentially dangerous drugs promoted by those with political connections".In May, new leadership was announced. Moncef Slaoui was named Operation Warp Speed's chief adviser.[1][9] Slaoui is a vaccine researcher and, formerly, Chairman of Global Research and Development and Chairman of Global Vaccines at GlaxoSmithKline, where he led the development of five vaccines.[1] General Gustave F. Perna, who served as commanding general of Army Materiel Command, was named Operation Warp Speed chief operating officer.[1][23] Retired Lieutenant General Paul A. Ostrowski, who previously served as director of the Army Acquisition Corps, was the director of supply, production and distribution.[24][25] Army Major General Christopher J. Sharpsten was the deputy director.[26][27]
Alex Azar, Mark Esper, and Deborah Birx were on the board of directors of OWS, while Tony Fauci, Francis Collins, and Robert Redfield were nonvoting advisers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Warp_Speed
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomedical_Advanced_Research_and_Development_Authority