On July 6, 2021, the Department of Defense (DOD), on behalf of and in coordination with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), awarded a $35.1 million contract to LightDeck Diagnostics to increase the production capacity of LightDeck's SARS-CoV-2 Ultra-Rapid Antigen and COVID-19 Total Antibody Tests.
These unique point-of-care tests deliver laboratory quality results in five minutes.
This industrial base expansion effort will increase LightDeck Diagnostics' domestic production capability of their SARS-CoV-2 Ultra-Rapid Antigen and COVID-19 Total Antibody Tests in Boulder, Colorado, from 50,000 tests per month to 1 million tests per month by September 2022.
The DOD's Defense Assisted Acquisition Cell (DA2) led this effort in coordination with the Department of the Air Force's Acquisition COVID-19 Task Force (DAF ACT).
HHS' Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), funded this effort through the Health Care Enhancement Act (HCEA) to support domestic industrial base expansion for critical medical resources.
About HHS, ASPR, and BARDA
HHS works to enhance and protect the health and well-being of all Americans, providing for effective health and human services and fostering advances in medicine, public health, and social services.
The mission of ASPR is to save lives and protect Americans from 21st century health security threats.
Within ASPR, BARDA invests in the innovation, advanced research and development, acquisition, and manufacturing of medical countermeasures – vaccines, drugs, therapeutics, diagnostic tools, and non-pharmaceutical products needed to combat health security threats.
To date, BARDA-supported products have achieved 61 FDA approvals, licensures or clearances.
To learn more about BARDA's COVID-19 Portfolio and BARDA's COVID-19 Response, visit www.medicalcountermeasures.gov/.
