THE SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20201
MEMORANDUM OF DECISION
SUBJECT: Authority under Public Law 85-804 to include an Indemnification Clause in Contract No. 200-2002-00004 with Acambis Inc. (Acambis) (formerly known as Oravax, Inc.), awarded on November 28, 2001.
Acambis Inc. (formerly know as Oravax, Inc.) has requested that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) indemnify it against risks associated with smallpox vaccine that it has and will have developed, manufactured, tested, labeled, packaged, stored, and distributed for the United States pursuant to Contract No. 200-2002-00004 (the Contract), awarded November 28, 2001. **************.
As an immediate consequence of recent bio-terrorist attacks on the United States, HHS awarded Acambis the Contract in order to ensure the availability of a sufficient stockpile of state-of-the-art smallpox vaccine (vaccinia virus in a vero substrate, known as ACAM 2000). Based on my findings that : (1) the vaccine serves as a significant bioterrorism countermeasure; (2) the Contract provides that the Government will not administer the vaccine to human subjects until I have approved a request for indemnification; and (3) for the reasons set forth below, the contract entails unusually hazardous risks for which insurance is unavailable at a reasonable cost, I further find that the use of an indemnification clause in the contract to cover the unusually hazardous risks defined below will facilitate the national defense.
In view of the uncertain and evolving state of product liability law with respect to vaccines in general, and the vaccinia vaccine in particular, I have concluded that the performance of the Contract under the circumstances will subject Acambis to the following unusually hazardous risks:
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I have considered the availability, cost and terms of private insurance to specifically cover these risks, as well as self-insurance and other insurance coverage Acambis currently maintains to cover all risks Acambis faces, and have concluded that adequate insurance to cover these unusually hazardous risks is not available to Acambis at a reasonable cost. Accordingly, the Government will not require, with respect to the Contract, that Acambis purchase
or maintain insurance coverage as a condition for indemnity under FAR § 52.250-1(c). As a condition of the indemnification hereby authorized, however, Acambis shall: (1) submit claims arising out of or related to the unusually hazardous risks defined above to the appropriate insurance carriers, if any, and the Government shall have no liability to indemnify Acambis for covered losses or for any applicable deductibles under insurance policies issued to Acambis by such carriers; and (2) within a reasonable time after the effective date of the contract modification implementing this memorandum, submit to the Secretary of Homeland Security an application for the designation of ACAM 2000 as a qualified anti-terrorism technology under section 862(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. § 441(b)).
As a further condition of the indemnification hereby authorized, the Government retains the right to closely monitor any and all litigation of claims, including any and all dispute resolution proceedings or settlement discussions involving claims, and to assume control of such proceedings or discussions at any time. Acambis will fully cooperate with the Government’s efforts to effect such monitoring.
“Claim” or “claims” shall mean claims for relief of any sort relating to the unusually hazardous risks as defined above asserted in court, arbitration or other dispute resolution proceedings, and claims or demands presented to the Contractor without the institution of formal proceedings. Reference to “claims,” “losses,” or “damages” include all claims (as defined above), losses or damages that are identified on or after the date of this memorandum.
“Contractor” means Acambis Inc., its subsidiaries, divisions, and organizational units, and any of Acambis Inc.’s predecessor corporations, subsidiaries, divisions, an organizational units, including but not limited to Oravax, Inc.
“Indemnify” means to indemnify and hold harmless, subject to FAR § 52.250-1(f).
Legal fees and expenses incurred by Acambis Inc. are subject to indemnification to the extent that the Secretary determines these amounts to be just and reasonable.
In view of the foregoing and pursuant to the authority vested in me by Public Law 85-804 (50 U.S.C. §§ 1431-1435) and Executive Order 10789, as amended, I hereby authorize the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to include the indemnification clause set forth at FAR § 52.250-1 in Contract No. 200-2002-00004, provided that the indemnification clause shall be so interpreted as to effectuate the policies set forth at FAR § 50.102.
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Should it become necessary in implementing this Memorandum of Decision to incorporate language into the Contract to clarify terms found in the indemnification clause, the contracting officer shall not include any such clarifying language without the prior approval of the Office of the General Counsel.
It is not possible to determine the actual or estimated cost to the government as the result of the use of this indemnification clause, inasmuch as the liability of the government, if any, will depend upon the occurrence of an incident within the definition of unusually hazardous risks.
The contractual documents executed pursuant to this authorization shall comply with this Memorandum of Decision, shall be substantially in the form attached hereto, and shall include indemnification as herein provided retroactive to the date of Acambis Inc.’s request for indemnification.
| Tommy G. Thompson SEP 25 2003 |