In 2006, president George W. Bush signed the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act, which created the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) within the United States Department of Health and Human Services. In preparation for a possible epidemic of respiratory disease, the newly created office awarded a $6 million contract to Newport Medical Instruments, a small company in California, to make 40,000 ventilators for under $3,000 apiece. In 2011, Newport sent three prototypes to the Centers for Disease Control. In 2012, Covidien, a $12 billion/year medical device manufacturer, which manufactured more expensive competing ventilators, bought Newport for $100 million. Covidien delayed and in 2014 cancelled the contract.