Entrepreneurs vs. Bioterror (blocked by Sen. Byrd for 18 months)

Wall Street Journal ^ | July 27, 2004 | Editorial

[OESY]

President Bush signed Project BioShield into law last week, no thanks to a Senate that took 18 months to pass this vital defense against terrorism. The key thing to know is that the law unleashes non-government ingenuity against bioterror.

Unveiled in early 2003, BioShield will provide $5.6 billion over the next 10 years, mostly to entrepreneurial companies to stockpile drugs to counter biological, chemical and radiological weapons. Many companies have the know-how to produce vaccines or treatments, but little has happened in recent decades because they are understandably reluctant to take a financial plunge without a market for what are often very specialized treatments. BioShield also allows the government to expedite grants for medical research and development.

As many as 100 biotechnology firms are already developing products that could be candidates for BioShield contracts. San Diego-based Vical is developing an experimental vaccine for the Ebola virus. Hollis-Eden is working on a treatment for radiation sickness. Others are looking into new therapies for anthrax, West Nile virus, botulinum toxin and smallpox.

The House passed the measure a year ago, but Bioshield stalled in the Senate after Democrat Robert Byrd demanded that project funding be subject to the yearly Congressional appropriations process (and his tender political mediation).

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[TBall]

Thanks for posting this. I guess Project Bio shield wasn't offering too much for West Virginia. Hopefully Project Bio shield will put resources toward detection.