The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, part of the US Department of Health and Human Services, is supporting efforts by Johnson & Johnson and Moderna to develop SARS-CoV-2 vaccines.
In a press release, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response says BARDA will support non-clinical studies and a phase 1 clinical trial of Janssen's COVID-19 investigational vaccine, Ad26 SARS-CoV-2. The effort has a goal of starting that phase 1 clinical trial in the fall and making the vaccine available for emergency use in early 2021.
According to ScienceInsider, BARDA has committed $456 million to that effort, and J&J's Paul Stoffels tells it that — if the vaccine works — it would be doing "this on a not-for-profit basis." He notes that the firm is working to ramp up its capacity so it could produce a billion doses.
"This is the one time in history that we can really do something for the world that is really transformational," Stoffels says.
Additionally, ASPR says BARDA will work with Moderna to prepare phase 2 and 3 clinical trials of its vaccine, SARS-CoV-2 mRNA-1273, that it developed with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. "Given the pandemic, Moderna has already started to prepare for the rapid acceleration of its manufacturing capabilities that could allow for the future manufacture of millions of doses should mRNA-1273 prove to be safe and of expected benefit," the company says in a statement, according to NPR.