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By Category: Countermeasures

$400 million to boost bioterror vaccine manufacturing

(FiercePharma Manufacturing) Three companies, one Swiss, one British and one U.S., will share $400 million to boost vaccine manufacturing capacity in the U.S. that the government can draft in the case of a pandemic or bioterror threats. Emergent BioSolutions ($EBS), GlaxoSmithKline ($GSK) and Novartis ($NVS) are the recipients of the first phase of the buildup Read More »

June 20, 2012
| Filed under Europe, North America, Countermeasures, Policy & Initiatives, and Research
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FMD strain in Kyrgyzstan infects vaccinated livestock

(CattleNetwork.com) new strain of foot-and-mouth disease poses a serious threat to the livestock industry in Kyrgyzstan as a significant number of livestock have already been infected. The unknown strain of FMD discovered in the republic of Kyrgyzstan, bordering the northwest side of China, even infects vaccinated cattle. According to Global Meat News, farmers affected by Read More »

June 19, 2012
| Filed under Middle East, Agriculture, Countermeasures, and Policy & Initiatives
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Anthrax alert system at risk as cost estimate hits $5.7 billion

(Washington Post) Funding for BioWatch, an early warning system to detect deadly pathogens in 30 U.S. cities, may be in jeopardy after cost estimates surged to $5.7 billion, six times the initial assessment. The Department of Homeland Security wants to open bidding before October on the next phase of the program, which monitors the air Read More »

June 19, 2012
| Filed under North America, Countermeasures, Policy & Initiatives, and Public Health
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HHS creates new centers to develop, manufacture medical countermeasures

(HHS News) Centers are first major U.S. domestic infrastructure to address biodefense threats and pandemic influenza. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today established three new centers to develop and manufacture medical countermeasures, such as vaccines and medicines used to protect health in emergencies, and can transition quickly and cost effectively between products. Read More »

June 19, 2012
| Filed under North America, Countermeasures, Policy & Initiatives, and Research
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Report doubts low-risk view of Kan. biohazard lab

(Wall Street Journal) TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas officials pressed the federal government Friday to move ahead with construction of a new biosecurity lab near Kansas State University, even though a new, independent report suggested that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security still doesn’t have a good assessment of how safely it could operate. The congressionally Read More »