Winning $392M for a COVID-19 Vaccine Trial

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated global efforts to develop vaccines and treatments at unprecedented speed. In the United States, a federal health agency launched a multi-agency initiative worth about $5 billion to accelerate next-generation COVID-19 vaccines and treatments through public-private partnerships, including needle-free vaccines that can be given intranasally or orally. 

 Awards under the initiative are made through a rapid response partnership vehicle, a consortium operating under an Other Transaction Authority (OTA), and companies must be members of the consortium to submit proposals. In this environment, a leading biotechnology company sought strategic support to secure non-dilutive public funding and manage the resulting large-scale clinical trial program. 

The biotechnology company aimed to: 

• Secure substantial non-dilutive funding from the U.S. government to accelerate vaccine development. 
• Navigate a complex funding framework and adapt its application to a new contracting mechanism, an OTA consortium. 
• Move rapidly from funding application to award execution. 
• Manage the delivery of the funded program, with rigorous project management and financial compliance. 

Sia worked closely with the company on funding and delivery: 

• Proposal development: Sia co-authored the proposal with its client, which secured an initial investment of $392 million from the U.S. government to support a COVID-19 vaccine trial involving 10,000 subjects. 
• Consortium transition: Sia facilitated the negotiation and the transition from the original funding application to an OTA consortium, a rapid response partnership vehicle, which ultimately granted the award. 
• Program management: Sia then supported the management of the resulting program, focusing on project management and financial compliance. 
• Governance and oversight: Sia set up governance frameworks and tracking tools to ensure transparency, accountability and timely progress reporting. 

The proposal that Sia co-authored secured an initial investment of $392 million from the U.S. government to support a COVID-19 vaccine trial involving 10,000 subjects. Sia then supported the management of the funded program, with a focus on project management and financial compliance. 

By combining a deep understanding of public funding mechanisms, proposal expertise and rigorous program management, Sia helps life sciences companies turn promising science into funded, well-run programs.