The Trump administration gave a drug-making contract worth up to $812 million to a small Virginia firm was founded less than 6 months ago

• The Trump administration has granted a $812 million contract to a small Virginia firm to boost US production of pharmaceuticals.
• The firm, Phlow, was only founded in January, and describes itself as a "public benefit pharmaceutical manufacturing company."
• Its CEO, Dr Eric Edwards, told the Associated Press that Phlow's mission is to make the US drug supply chain less reliant on other countries.
• According to Stat News, Edwards has a checkered history in the pharmaceutical industry.
• The Trump administration says Phlow's mission has been made more urgent by the coronavirus pandemic.
• White House trade adviser Peter Navarro told The Wall Street Journal he had bonded with a company board over his China skepticism after she read his book.

The Trump administration has handed a $812 million contract to a small Virginia firm to boost US production of anti-coronavirus drugs and reduce reliance on foreign pharmaceuticals supply chains.

Phlow, the company in question, was founded in January 2020, which means that it is about to turn six months old. The aware is a huge sum for such a new firm.

The Department of Health and Human Services announced the contract in a Tuesday statement.

It said the Advanced Research and Development Authority — which directs federal money to companies countering public health threats — was giving the deal to Phlow, which is based in Richmond.

Dr Eric Edwards, co-founder and CEO of Phlow, told the Associated Press that many Americans do not realise how dependent the US is on foreign manufacturers for its medicines, a situation Phlow wants to change.

"It's amazing how many individuals don't realize how vulnerable our active ingredient supply chain has been," Edwards said.

According to The New York Times, Phlow will be replicating the function of US companies that already produce the same drugs, but rely on foreign raw ingredients. Phlow aims to source these from within the US.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar echoed the concern in a statement announcing the contract.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us how health threats or other sources of instability can threaten America's medical supply chains, potentially endangering Americans' health," Azar said.

According to the health care website Stat News, Edwards has come under scrutiny for his actions with previous ventures.

An earlier company he founded, Kaleo, was investigated by the US Senate for abruptly increasing prices for an opioid overdose treatment by more than 600%. Kaleo was also scrutinized by Senator Chuck Grassley for selling a rival product to the EpiPen for $4,500.

A spokesperson for Phlow told Stat News that Edwards left Kaleo "on good terms more than a year ago and had no oversight of drug pricing during the end of his tenure," and later amended the statement to say that he had no oversight over drug pricing decisions at all.

Peter Navarro, President Donald Trump's trade adviser and a noted China critic, told The Wall Street Journal that he had been introduced to Edwards in November by Phlow board member Rosemary Gibson.

Gibson reached out after reading Navarro's book "Death By China," which warns of US over-reliance on Chinese pharmaceuticals, Navarro said.

After Navarro dispatched a team to inspect one of its manufacturing plants, the company submitted a proposal in March, according to the Journal.

The initial contract is for $354 million to boost US-based drug supplies over four years.

It includes the option to be extended for 10 years to a total sum of $812 million. That sum would be one of the largest grants ever rewarded by the body.

On its website, the company echoes President Donald Trump's "America First" rhetoric about reducing US reliance on foreign manufacturing.

Its marketing material says: "The United States' drug supply chain is broken, becoming dangerously dependent upon foreign suppliers for our most essential generic medicines."

The company will manufacture raw ingredients for drugs needed to treat COVID-19 patients, according to CBS News. The drugs will be then manufactured in US-based facilities.