Medical Countermeasures Surge Capacity Act of 2022
This bill expands the scope of research and development activities carried out by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to include support for maintaining and improving domestic manufacturing surge capacity and capabilities for vaccines, diagnostics, and other medical countermeasures.
In particular, BARDA must enter into transactions with facilities to ensure that domestic manufacturing surge capacity is available to manufacture medical countermeasures and related products in the event of a public health emergency (e.g., by supporting flexible or advanced manufacturing). The Government Accountability Office must report on these efforts.
In addition, BARDA must address support for domestic manufacturing surge capacity in its strategic plan for countermeasure research, development, and procurement.
The bill also reauthorizes through FY2028 a program through which BARDA may support innovative technologies to assist in medical countermeasure research and development using grants, cooperative agreements, and other transactions.