The bill also proposed shielding the agency from public Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, which would protect it from long-standing open records and meetings laws.
The proposed new agency would improve on Project BioShield, a barely two-year-old program also meant to encourage the production of vaccines and drugs.
Other key aspects of the proposed legislation included: Much of the support for the bill comes from Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and its members.
[citation needed] Senator Burr said the legislation "creates a true partnership" between the federal government, the pharmaceutical industry, and academia to "walk the drug companies through the Valley of Death" (referring to the period during which there are large capital expenditures for development, but before profits, if any, can be realized) in bringing a new vaccine or drug to market.
Exemptions from open records and meetings laws would streamline the development process, safeguard national security and protect the proprietary interests of drug companies, say Republican backers of the bill.