Federal officials will use H1N1 funding to speed the process of discovering and developing drugs and vaccines in case of emergency.
Los Angeles Times
By Andrew Zajac, Tribune Washington Bureau
August 20, 2010
Acknowledging that the development of medical countermeasures against bioterrorism threats and pandemic flu is lagging, federal authorities Thursday announced a $1.9-billion makeover of the system for identifying and manufacturing drugs and vaccines for public health emergencies.
The overhaul includes refinements to manufacturing aimed at shaving weeks off the time it takes to produce pandemic flu vaccine, and a series of steps aimed at more quickly spotting promising scientific discoveries and getting them to market.
“We aren’t generating enough new products,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, citing “leaks, chokepoints and dead ends” in the medical development pipeline.
Money for the changes comes from funds initially allocated for the H1N1 flu pandemic.
Among other things, the effort would provide $822 million for upgrades to speed up production of pandemic flu vaccine. Another large block, $678 million, would be used to set up at least one private facility that would work under government contract with small companies to manufacture new products, develop new manufacturing processes and help produce vaccines during periods of peak demand.
The reforms were detailed in a Health and Human Services Department report commissioned in late 2009 and released Thursday along with a separate report by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
Both reports were spurred by months-long delays in production of the H1N1 vaccine last year. The pandemic flu turned out to be relatively mild, but health authorities said the delay exposed flaws in response that could cost thousands of lives in future outbreaks if uncorrected.
The changes, particularly the additional money for drug development and improvement of the FDA’s regulatory process, are important steps in the right direction, said Dr. Brad Spellberg of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
“This is a sign that the federal government is starting to get it,” said Spellberg, author of “Rising Plague,” which describes that emergence of antibiotic-resistant “superbugs.”
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