New Study Finds U.S. Ill-Prepared to Respond to Bioterrorism;
Experts Call for Coordinated Effort to Develop Drugs and Vaccines to Fight
Bioterrorism
WASHINGTON, Oct 12, 2004 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- A report released today finds
wide agreement among experts from the pharmaceutical industry, government,
and academia that the danger posed by bioterrorism and natural epidemics is
"profoundly serious" and that the nation is ill-prepared to develop the
vaccines and medicines that will be needed to fight these threats.
Researchers from the Center for Biosecurity of the University of Pittsburgh
Medical Center (UPMC) and the Sarnoff Corporation interviewed 30 thought
leaders from industry, government, and academia who are experts in
biomedical research and drug and vaccine development to elicit their views
on the current status of the nation's capacity to develop biodefense
countermeasures and on steps to improve this process. The report, "Taking
the Measure of Countermeasures," appears in the journal Biosecurity and
Bioterrorism.
There was no attempt to draw a consensus from the interviews, but several
themes emerged:
-- An infectious disease epidemic - whether naturally occurring
or intentional - is virtually certain, and the consequences of
such an outbreak would be grave.
-- Serious shortfalls remain in the nation's ability to detect
and respond to a biological attack.
-- The nation needs a strategy to develop drugs and vaccines
against infectious agents and that strategy must engage
government, industry, and the biomedical research and
development community.
-- A new organization is needed to serve as an "honest broker" to
manage this strategy.
-- BioShield is an important first step - but only a first step -
in engaging the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, and is
not sufficient to fully engage industry or to produce the
countermeasures (i.e., drugs and vaccines) that will
ultimately be needed.
Most of the experts concluded that there is currently no plan to develop
drugs and vaccines for biodefense. They felt that the efforts so far have
lacked coordination, were too limited in scope, or focused too much on
specific threat organisms. Many believe that an organism-by-organism
approach is not an effective long-term strategy for developing drugs and
vaccines and that the overall drug development process must be shortened.
Many of the experts responding painted a stark picture of the status quo.
One expert stated that "Any high school student can create genetically
engineered organisms; so I think they will come. Why would anyone use
anthrax to attack a civilian population and not make it antibiotic
resistant?"
Another interviewee commented: "Rapid development of new drugs is a key
technology that we don't have yet." Another noted, "The academic community
has done a phenomenal job of opening new doors to therapy through science,
but you need a drug company to make drugs."
Some of the experts said that the current planning and coordination of
biodefense measures is inadequate and needs to be improved, and many
believed the federal government should take the lead: "It's up to government
to sponsor interactions between the different industries and assemble the
units like a jigsaw puzzle into a complete entity that can deal with
everything and speed up the process."
Some of the interviewees felt that an new organization - whether a
government office or a quasi-government agency - needs to be set up to
mediate between government and private industry and serve as an "honest
broker" among all of the participating players: "Someone has to create a
master plan and talk Congress into funding it."
A complete copy of "Taking the Measure of Countermeasures" is available at
the Biosecurity and Bioterrorism Web site (http://www.biosecurityjournal.com/upcoming.asp)
and on the UPMC Center for Biosecurity's Web site (http://www.upmc-biosecurity.org).
The Center for Biosecurity of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC)
works to prevent the development and use of biological weapons, to catalyze
advances in science and governance that diminish the power of biological
weapons as agents of mass destruction, and to lessen the human suffering
that would result if prevention fails.
Sarnoff Corporation (www.sarnoff.com)
produces innovations in electronic, biomedical and information technology
that generate new products and services for clients worldwide. Founded in
1942 as RCA Laboratories, Sarnoff develops breakthroughs in ICs, lasers, and
imagers; drug discovery, manufacture and delivery; digital TV and video for
security, surveillance, and entertainment; high-performance networking; and
wireless communications. Its history includes the development of color TV,
the liquid-crystal display, and the disposable hearing aid, and a leadership
role in creating the U.S. digital and HDTV standard. Sarnoff also founds new
companies to bring its technologies to market. It is a subsidiary of SRI
International.
SOURCE: Center for Biosecurity of the University of Pittsburgh
Sarnoff Corporation
Terry Banks, 202-828-9710
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