One of the nation’s top vaccine development experts said he was “forced out” of a federal agency, according to New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman.
Rick Bright, who was the director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), said he was pushed out for wanting to use science to test treatments for COVID-19, specifically the Trump administration’s push to get chloroquines in wide use, Haberman reported.
The agency is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and, according to its website, was established to protect the nation "from chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats, as well as from pandemic influenza (PI) and emerging infectious diseases."
»COMPLETE COVERAGE: CORONAVIRUS
Bright, according to Stat News, is moving into a smaller role at the National Institutes of Health. Gary Disbrow, Bright's former deputy, will serve as the acting director of the office, an HHS spokesperson said.
Bright has also worked for the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and as an adviser to the World Health Organization.
BARDA invests in drugs, devices and other technologies that help address infectious disease outbreaks and has been at the center of the federal government’s coronavirus pandemic response.
Congress more than tripled BARDA’s budget in the most recent coronavirus stimulus package. The office has partnered with Johnson & Johnson and Moderna Therapeutics, both of which are developing potential COVID-19 treatments.
Johnson & Johnson, while slashing its 2020 sales forecast by billions of dollars and cutting its profit expectations, is aiming to have its single-dose vaccine candidate available for broad use early in 2021.
It also is testing two backup vaccine candidates. The company has a long track record on vaccines, developing ones for HIV, Ebola and the Zika virus during the last decade.
BARDA’s director reports directly to the HHS assistant secretary for preparedness and response.
Rich Barak of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution contributed to this report.
About the Author
