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Bioshield II Legislation Introduced in Senate
Three U.S. senators last week introduced Bioshield II legislation to continue to promote development of countermeasures to a bioterror attack (see GSN, July 21, 2004). The initial Project Bioshield, signed into law last year, set aside $5.6 billion to fund development of drugs and other products against a WMD event. However, potential manufacturers and analysts said roadblocks remained to development of such products (see GSN, Oct. 4, 2004). “The best way to combat the very real and serious threat of bioterrorism is to utilize our greatest strength — the entrepreneurial talent of our nation — in our national defense,” Senator Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.), who co-sponsored Bioshield II with Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), said in a press release. “The Bioshield law enacted last year takes the first step, but without additional reforms, companies are not likely to risk their own capital to fund this research, leaving us with a government-funding model that will be exceedingly expensive and not likely to produce the results we need,” Lieberman added. Bioshield II calls for tax incentives to promote capital investment in research, patent incentives and other intellectual property protections, and liability protections for manufacturers whose vaccines cannot be fully tested, as they would be designed to counteract potentially fatal infections. The legislation pledges federal money for products that meet government specifications, but sets no specific funding levels, the press release states. Legislation introduced in January by Senator Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) and Senate GOP leaders also seeks to expand on the original Bioshield. Lieberman, Hatch and Brownback hope to combine their proposals with the earlier bill (U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman release, April 28).
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