Issues Raised over Project Bioshield

Project Bioshield, the federal program to develop vaccines to protect the public in the event of a biological terror threat, has a number of problems that could prevent full private industry participation, according to a study by the Chemical & Biological Arms Control Institute, a nonprofit research organization. The main problem is fear of litigation against companies should something go wrong in administering a vaccine in an emergency. The institute concludes that an executive order is needed to protect the pharmaceutical companies from liability issues. The report also cites the need for better protection of patent rights, for a coordinating body for the program, and for more money as issues that need to be addressed before the program can be successful. The report can be found on the Web at http://www.cbaci.org.