Alliance for Biosecurity Testifies Before Congress on Funding for Medical Countermeasure...

Alliance for Biosecurity Testifies Before Congress on Funding for Medical
Countermeasure Development

WASHINGTON, March 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- David P. Wright, Co-Chair of
the Alliance for Biosecurity and Chairman and CEO of PharmAthene, Inc.,
testified today before the House Labor, Health and Human Services, and
Education Appropriations Subcommittee on the critical importance of developing
drugs, vaccines and other medical countermeasures needed to protect Americans
from bioterrorism and other catastrophic health emergencies. Effective medical
countermeasures for many of the chemical, biological, radiological, and
nuclear (CBRN) agents that pose the greatest threat to the United States do
not currently exist, and Wright argued that the federal government should take
a more active role in supporting their development to bolster the nation's
biosecurity.

"Protecting our nation against bioterror threats is no less important than
ensuring that we have the tools necessary to fortify and protect our
military," Wright noted, but "funding for the development of CBRN
countermeasures, particularly in the area of advanced development, has been
woefully inadequate." Wright stated that "without adequate funding, promising
countermeasures will not be developed and the nation will remain vulnerable to
a bioterror attack - and make no mistake, a bioterror attack is a real and
credible threat."

New drug development is an extraordinarily time consuming and
resource-intensive process that requires 10-15 years and approximately $800
million from start to finish for one product. To help accelerate the
development of needed medical countermeasures, the Alliance recommended that
Congress provide $1.7 billion in FY 2010 to support the advanced research and
development of biodefense countermeasures. The principle agency responsible
for these activities is the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development
Authority (BARDA) within HHS. Wright observed that when Congress created
BARDA in 2006 it authorized $1.07 billion specifically for this purpose, but
to date it has provided less than half of this amount. Wright highlighted
several promising vaccines and therapies that could benefit from increased
funding and noted that each new biotech job results in the creation of 5.8
additional jobs in other industries. "Increased funding would advance the day
when our nation has access to these critical countermeasures," Wright stated,
but "until that day arrives, the American people remain at risk."

About the Alliance for Biosecurity
The Alliance for Biosecurity was formed in June of 2005 by biopharmaceutical
companies and the Center for Biosecurity of the University of Pittsburgh
Medical Center. Alliance members are committed to partnering with government
and promoting a new era in the prevention and treatment of severe infectious
diseases - particularly those that present global security challenges -
through innovative and accelerated research, development and production of
countermeasures. Company members of the Alliance include: Bavarian-Nordic,
Cangene Corporation, DOR BioPharma, Inc., Dynport Vaccine Company LLC, a CSC
Company, Elusys Therapeutics, Emergent BioSolutions, Hematech, Inc., a
subsidiary of Kyowa Kirin, Human Genome Sciences, Inc., NanoViricides, Inc.,
Pfizer Inc., PharmAthene, Siga Technologies, and Unither Virology LLC, a
subsidiary of United Therapeutics.

SOURCE Alliance for Biosecurity

Anita Cicero of Alliance for Biosecurity, +1-202-230-5163