Biosecurity News in Brief

March 12, 2010
  

Note: All links accessed and active on day of Biosecurity News in Brief publication.
    

2009 H1N1 Influenza
Pharmacy Swine Flu Trial Moves into Phase II - Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (Medical News TODAY) The first phase of a swine flu vaccination program trial conducted in Tasmania by the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia and the Department of Health and Human Services has proved popular with the community.

After Swine Flu Frenzy, Biotechs Come Back to Earth (Washington Business Journal) For much of 2009, the swine flu was the biotech industry’s cash cow. The virus’s sudden contagion last spring spread rapidly and lucratively to the local life sciences community, where a handful of companies scrambled to assemble enough money and staffers to launch studies, conduct research and shape products to respond to the first documented flu pandemic in 40 years.

Biological Agents and Epidemic Diseases
Recalls from Salmonella May Rise to 10,000 Products (Update1) (Business Week) Salmonella contamination at a Nevada food-flavoring plant may trigger the recall of as many as 10,000 products, according to a Consumers Union scientist.

National and Homeland Security
Report Cites U.S. Budget Increase for WMD Security (GSN) The Obama administration's $3.1 billion fiscal 2011 budget request for worldwide WMD security activities would provide a "significant boost" for efforts in the nuclear and biological sectors, the Partnership for Global Security said in an analysis issued this week.

Technology Not the Main Problem in Sorting Intelligence, Expert Says (CQ Politics) A National Counterterrorism Center official told senators Wednesday that more effective analysis of the voluminous data available about potential terrorists could require more personnel, but not necessarily major computer upgrades.

Countermeasures
Young Kids to Benefit from Broader Pneumococcal Vaccine (Business Week) The recent approval of a new, more broadly effective pneumococcal vaccine (PCV13) for young children could greatly reduce the prevalence of pneumococcal disease in that age group, a new government report suggests.

Battelle, IBM, Merck Join UPMC’s Effort to Produce Vaccines to Protect Public Health (21CB Press Release) Building on its extensive efforts to establish a flexible vaccine development and production facility to strengthen the nation’s biosecurity, UPMC announced today that it has been joined by Battelle, IBM and Merck & Co. Inc. in this first-of-its-kind initiative.

Push to Cure Rare Diseases (Wall Street Journal) Staff members at the Food and Drug Administration are doing something unusual. They are leaving Washington to help drug makers take a crucial step in developing drugs for rare diseases.