II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2640 

To establish a program for developing medical countermeasures for unknown 

viral threats. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 5, 2021 

Ms. BALDWIN (for herself, Mr. CASEY, Mr. KING, and Ms. SMITH) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To establish a program for developing medical 

countermeasures for unknown viral threats. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Disease X Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES FOR UNKNOWN 

6 VIRAL THREATS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

8 Human Services (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Sec9 retary’’), acting through the Director of the Biomedical 

10 Advanced Research and Development Authority, in coordiVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:49 Aug 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2640.IS S2640

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1 nation and consultation with the relevant offices and agen2 cies participating in the Public Health Emergency Medical 

3 Countermeasures Enterprise, shall establish a Disease X 

4 Medical Countermeasures program for purposes of devel5 oping medical countermeasures, including therapeutics, 

6 diagnostics, and vaccines, for unknown viral threats. 

7 (b) CONSULTATION.—Pursuant to the program es8 tablished under subsection (a)— 

9 (1) the Secretary shall consult with the Public 

10 Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enter11 prise regarding any investment strategies; 

12 (2) the Department of Health and Human 

13 Services shall be the agency with primary responsi14 bility concerning medical countermeasures needed to 

15 protect the diverse public of the United States, in16 cluding children and other at-risk populations; and 

17 (3) the Secretary shall consult with the Sec18 retary of Defense concerning medical counter19 measures targeted to the protection of military per20 sonnel. 

21 (c) ACCESSIBILITY AND EQUITY.—To protect the di22 verse public of the United States, the Secretary shall 

23 prioritize equity and accessibility, including ease of admin24 istration and distribution, in the development of medical 

25 countermeasures. 


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1 (d) GRANT PROGRAM.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—To carry out the program 

3 under this section, the Secretary may award grants, 

4 contracts, and cooperative agreements to, and enter 

5 into other transactions with, eligible entities. 

6 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a 

7 grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under this 

8 subsection, or to enter into another transaction with 

9 the Secretary under this subsection, an entity shall 

10 be based in the United States and shall maintain do11 mestic research and development and manufacturing 

12 operations. 

13 (3) REQUIREMENT.—Not fewer than 25 percent 

14 of the recipients of grants under this subsection 

15 shall be eligible entities with 500 or fewer employees. 

16 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

17 out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated 

18 $500,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2025. 

Æ 


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