Congress Nears OK of Weapons Vaccine Bill

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Congress Nears OK of Weapons Vaccine Bill

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By JIM ABRAMS, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Lawmakers who experienced the dangers of anthrax

firsthand are sending President Bush (news - web sites) legislation

to give private companies $5.6 billion in incentives to develop

antidotes to biological and chemical weapons.

Over the next 10 years, the Project Bioshield Act would give the

pharmaceutical industry the financial guarantees it says it needs to

research and produce vaccines and antidotes for bioterror agents that

otherwise would have little marketable value.

With a House vote Wednesday, Congress was completing work on the

legislation Bush requested in a State of the Union speech 18 months

ago. Agreement between the House and Senate was delayed by a dispute

over how to guarantee a steady stream of funding to drug makers

without taking away Congress' authority to make annual decisions on

spending levels.

Protection against the weapons is of personal interest to many

lawmakers who have seen their offices closed and their lives

disrupted twice by biological threats since the Sept. 11 attacks.

It took three months and $23 million to clean up Senate office

buildings after deadly anthrax bacteria was discovered in October

2001 in the mailroom of then-Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-

S.D. Hundreds of people who work in those buildings were given

antibiotics such as Cipro.

Three Senate office buildings were also closed for up to a week this

February after the biological toxin ricin was found in the office of

Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn.

The legislation guarantees that any company that develops

countermeasures to treat diseases and conditions caused by

bioterrorism would have a buyer in the federal government. Also

included would be antidotes for chemical, radiological and nuclear

agents.

Among the first candidates for purchase are next-generation anthrax

vaccines. The government eventually hopes to stockpile enough doses

to inoculate 25 million people.

California-based VaxGen Inc. and Britain's Avecia have the leading

candidates. Safety testing is under way, but the hope is that the

newer type of vaccine could cut in half the number of shots now

required for anthrax inoculation, with few side effects.

The bill also would accelerate the approval process for vaccines and,

in an emergency, let the government distribute certain treatments

before the Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites) approves

them.

In cases where the private sector does not respond to the federal

incentives, the bill allows the government to operate emergency

programs to research and produce vaccines.

The House passed a bioshield bill in July last year, but Senate

appropriators balked at language that would have made spending

automatic, saying that would undermine their authority to oversee and

determine annual spending and create an entitlement for the drug

industry.

In the compromise unanimously approved by the Senate in May and

endorsed by the House Wednesday, Congress agreed to spend $5.6

billion over the next decade while retaining control over how the

money is appropriated.

Among the agents to be included in Project Bioshield are smallpox,

anthrax, botulism toxin, plague and Ebola (news - web sites).

___

The bill is S. 15.

On the Net:

Congress: http://thomas.loc.gov/

--- End forwarded message ---

[Guest guest]

Lets hope this includes research into mycotic antitoxins.

Wed Jul 14, 2:22

PM ET

By JIM ABRAMS,

Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON -

Lawmakers who experienced the dangers of anthrax firsthand

are sending

President Bush (news - web sites) legislation to give private companies

$5.6 billion in

incentives to develop antidotes to biological and chemical weapons.

Over the next 10 years, the Project Bioshield Act

would give the pharmaceutical industry the financial

guarantees it says it needs to research and produce

vaccines and antidotes for bioterror agents that

otherwise would have little marketable value.

With a House vote Wednesday, Congress was

completing work on the legislation Bush requested in a

State of the Union speech 18 months ago. Agreement

between the House and Senate was delayed by a

dispute over how to guarantee a steady stream of

funding to drug makers without taking away Congress'

authority to make annual decisions on spending levels.

Protection against the weapons is of personal interest

to many lawmakers who have seen their offices

closed and their

lives disrupted twice by biological threats since the Sept. 11 attacks.

It took three

months and $23 million to clean up Senate office buildings after deadly

anthrax bacteria

was discovered in October 2001 in the mailroom of then-Senate

Majority Leader

Tom Daschle, D-S.D. Hundreds of people who work in those buildings

were given

antibiotics such as Cipro.

Three Senate

office buildings were also closed for up to a week this February after

the biological

toxin ricin was found in the office of Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn.

The legislation

guarantees that any company that develops countermeasures to treat

diseases and

conditions caused by bioterrorism would have a buyer in the federal

government. Also

included would be antidotes for chemical, radiological and nuclear

agents.

Among the first

candidates for purchase are next-generation anthrax vaccines. The

government

eventually hopes to stockpile enough doses to inoculate 25 million people.

California-based

VaxGen Inc. and Britain's Avecia have the leading candidates. Safety

testing is under

way, but the hope is that the newer type of vaccine could cut in half

the number of

shots now required for anthrax inoculation, with few side effects.

The bill also

would accelerate the approval process for vaccines and, in an

emergency, let the

government distribute certain treatments before the Food and Drug

Administration

(news - web sites) approves them.

In cases where the

private sector does not respond to the federal incentives, the bill

allows the

government to operate emergency programs to research and produce

vaccines.

The House passed a

bioshield bill in July last year, but Senate appropriators balked at

language that

would have made spending automatic, saying that would undermine their

authority to

oversee and determine annual spending and create an entitlement for the

drug industry.

In the compromise

unanimously approved by the Senate in May and endorsed by the

House Wednesday,

Congress agreed to spend $5.6 billion over the next decade while

retaining control

over how the money is appropriated.

Among the agents

to be included in Project Bioshield are smallpox, anthrax, botulism

toxin, plague and

Ebola (news - web sites).