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Scientists Urge Development of Antiviral Drugs to Slow Spread of Smallpox in Case of Attack
A panel of scientists has called for collaboration between the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, universities and government agencies to develop new smallpox drugs, according to a report released Monday by the National Academies (see GSN, July 1). Given the urgent need for new drugs to prevent the spread of smallpox were it to be used as a bioterrorism agent, the group’s top recommendation was the engagement of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies in the effort, said Stephen Harrison of Harvard Medical School, the lead author of the report. With the estimated price tag for developing two or three antiviral drugs at $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion, the government would have to come up with new ways of interacting with these companies, according to Harrison. The panel discussed the possibility of the government offering contracts for development of the drugs and then guaranteeing a market for them. “The Department of Defense has a lot of experience with commissioning such products and acting as the sole market for them,” Harrison said in a prepared release. “But the federal health agencies do not, so we recognized that such arrangements would require significant changes in how they interact with industry,” he added (National Academies release, July 12).
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