Medical Countermeasures Surge Capacity Act of 2022
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to improve domestic manufacturing surge capacity and capabilities for biodefense and pandemic preparedness.
Sec. 2 Warm base manufacturing capacity for medical countermeasures
“(iv) activities to support, maintain, and improve domestic manufacturing surge capacity and capabilities, as appropriate, including through the utilization of advanced manufacturing and platform technologies, to increase the availability of products that are or may become qualified countermeasures or qualified pandemic or epidemic products;”
“(C) activities to support, maintain, and improve domestic manufacturing surge capacity and capabilities, as appropriate, including through the utilization of advanced manufacturing and platform technologies, to increase the availability of products that are or may become qualified countermeasures or qualified pandemic or epidemic products; and”
“(III) facilitating such communication, as appropriate, regarding manufacturing surge capacity and capabilities with respect to qualified countermeasures and qualified pandemic or epidemic products to prepare for, or respond to, a public health emergency or potential public health emergency; and
“(IV) facilitating such communication, as appropriate and in a manner that does not compromise national security, with respect to potential eligibility for the material threat medical countermeasure priority review voucher program under section 565A of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act;”
“(iii) communicate regularly with entities in receipt of an award pursuant to subparagraph (B)(v), and facilitate communication between such entities and other entities in receipt of an award pursuant to subparagraph (B)(iv), as appropriate, for purposes of planning regarding the availability of countermeasures and the maintenance of domestic manufacturing surge capacity and capabilities, including any planned uses of such capacity and capabilities in the near- and mid-term, and identification of any significant challenges related to the long-term maintenance of such capacity and capabilities; and”
“(v) award contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements and enter into other transactions to support, maintain, and improve domestic manufacturing surge capacity and capabilities, including through supporting flexible or advanced manufacturing, to ensure that additional capacity is available to rapidly manufacture products that are or may become qualified countermeasures or qualified pandemic or epidemic products in the event of a public health emergency declaration or significant potential for a public health emergency.”
“(iii) consult with the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, pursuant to section 565(b)(2) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, to ensure that facilities performing manufacturing, pursuant to an award under subparagraph (B)(v), are in compliance with applicable requirements under such Act and this Act, as appropriate, including current good manufacturing practice pursuant to section 501(a)(2)(B) of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; and”
“(G) Annual reports by award recipients—As a condition of receiving an award under subparagraph (B)(v), a recipient shall develop and submit to the Secretary annual reports related to the maintenance of such capacity and capabilities, including ensuring that such capacity and capabilities are able to support the rapid manufacture of countermeasures as required by the Secretary.”
“(H) Supporting warm-base and surge capacity and capabilities—Pursuant to an award under subparagraph (B)(v), the Secretary may make payments for activities necessary to maintain domestic manufacturing surge capacity and capabilities supported under such award to ensure that such capacity and capabilities are able to support the rapid manufacture of countermeasures as required by the Secretary to prepare for, or respond to, an existing or potential public health emergency or otherwise address threats that pose a significant level of risk to national security. The Secretary may support the utilization of such capacity and capabilities under awards for countermeasure and product advanced research and development, as appropriate, to provide for the maintenance of such capacity and capabilities.”
“(D) plans for the near-, mid-, and long-term sustainment of manufacturing activities carried out under this section, including such activities pursuant to subsection (c)(5)(H), specific actions to regularly assess the ability of recipients of an award under subsection (c)(4)(B)(v) to rapidly manufacture countermeasures as required by the Secretary, and recommendations to address challenges, if any, related to such activities.”