Global Security Newswire
Daily News on Nuclear, Biological & Chemical Weapons, Terrorism and Related Issues
Obama Requests $17.7M for FDA Biodefense Site
The Obama administration on Monday requested a $17.7 million outlay for preparing and performing checks on a U.S. Food and Drug Administration biological defense center planned in Silver Spring, Md., the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy reported (see GSN, May 4, 2011; Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy release, Feb. 13).
The administration's $3.5 billion funding proposal for the agency, included in President Obama's fiscal 2013 budget request for the Health and Human Services Department, also seeks $3.5 million in FDA appropriations to develop drug treatments for use following a potential chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attack (see GSN, Dec. 15, 2011).
The funding would "support science and partnerships to improve [medical countermeasure] development time lines and the success rates for [medical countermeasures]," the agency said in a statement.
The office said it would also boost technical support to producers of the response tools with an emphasis on the treatments considered most important (U.S. Food and Drug Administration release, Feb. 13).
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NTI Analysis
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Between Publishing and Perishing? H5N1 Research Unleashes Unprecedented Dual-Use Research Controversy
May 3, 2012
Recently, researchers in the Netherlands and the United States identified genetic mutations that could enable H5N1 bird flu to become easily transmissible from one human to another. Controversy has emerged about whether the details of these two particularly sensitive H5N1 studies should be openly published to aid global pandemic preparedness or withheld in the interests of national security. Because similar trade-offs will emerge frequently in the field of biotechnology, the task of devising effective management strategies for so-called "dual-use research of concern" will continue to increase in both complexity and importance.
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UNSCR 1540 Resource Collection
March 19, 2012
The UNSCR 1540 Resource Collection examines implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540, which requires all states to implement measures aimed at preventing non-state actors from acquiring NBC weapons, related materials, and their means of delivery. It details implementation efforts in all of the regions and countries of the world to-date.
Country Profile
United States
This article provides an overview of the United States’ historical and current policies relating to nuclear, chemical, biological and missile proliferation.
