The Biden administration aims to accelerate the development of new coronavirus vaccines and treatments through a more than $5 billion program dubbed "Project Next Gen," The Washington Post reported April 10.
The program will function similarly to the Trump administration's "Operation Warp Speed," in which the federal government will partner with private companies on new vaccines and therapies to protect against the virus that causes COVID-19 and other coronaviruses.
"It's been very clear to us that the market on this is moving very slowly," Ashish Jha, MD, the White House coronavirus coordinator, told the Post. "There's a lot that government can do, the administration can do, to speed up those tools … for the American people.”
Project Next Gen will focus efforts on creating long-lasting monoclonal antibody treatments, along with vaccines that spur mucosal immunity and a pan-coronavirus — or universal — vaccine.
The government is currently seeking private-sector partnerships, an HHS spokesperson told the Post. Dr. Jha declined to share a timeline for when new vaccines or therapeutics may hit the market, citing numerous variables including drug companies' production plans and FDA's regulatory reviews.