On the defensive. Tommy Thompson said BioShield will encourage companies to produce bio-terrorism defense products.
The legislation proposed by the Bush administration to stimulate the production of medicines and vaccines antibioterrorism is running into opposition in Congress. Although project "BioShield" was approved by a Senate committee last week, members of the House expressed strong reservations about its potentially astronomical costs and the negative impact on competition between pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to design new treatments.
President George W. Bush first announced BioShield in his State of the Union in February. BioShield aims to accelerate research efforts and development base of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which was allocated a record $ 1.7 billion to research bioterrorism during exercise 03. It also includes a provision to distribute drugs and vaccines to fight against potential bioterrorist attacks without the usual clinical tests mandated by the Food and drug Administration.
But it was third provision BioShield that caused widespread concern among members of the two subcommittees, one of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and one of the commission of Homeland security, which organized jointly today for their first discussion of the law. Representatives have doubts about the administration's plan to enter into multi-year contracts with companies that produce products antibioterror and provide guaranteed financial support of products once they reach fruit. This is necessary "to create a market" for products that would not have another one, said Tommy Thompson, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Without BioShield, "it will not be a lot of companies are lining up to do."
But members of the House have pointed out potential flaws in this strategy. For example, if the government contracted with a production company, for example, a vaccine against the plague, then a second company developed a superior vaccine, the first contract was nevertheless held, and the government would be stuck paying for a potentially inferior product. "You can indeed stifle innovation" by discouraging competition, said Jim Turner (D-TX), and waste money. Bush tentatively proposed to spend $ 6 billion over 10 years on BioShield, but Thompson said during today's hearing that the amount is actually "indefinitely" without limit in a year. In addition, because the Project BioShield Act installs the current bill, a future administration would be bound to support it, even if displaced national security priorities, noted Christopher Cox (R-CA).
The Energy and Commerce and Homeland Security committees will now determine how, if necessary, modify the existing draft BioShield Act before voting on it.
Related Sites
information from the White House on BioShield
Senate Bill BioShield
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