Fleshing out biodefense fund

In August, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced a review of medical countermeasures to national security threats and proposed five priorities, including the creation of an independent strategic investment firm. The journal Biosecurity and Bioterrorism: Biodefense Strategy, Practice, and Science now is set to publish a paper this week by WBB Securities delineating what such an investment vehicle should look like.

The paper proposes the creation of the "Drug Development Incentive Fund (DDIF)" to "stimulate the development of first-in-class agents that also possess the capability to guard against biothreats." Such a fund would "support greater synergies between public funding and venture investment."...