HHS releases medical countermeasures review

HHS released a review of medical countermeasures and announced plans to allocate about $2 billion to address five areas of focus identified by the report. The allocations include about $822 million to upgrade flu vaccine manufacturing; $678 million to develop flexible manufacturing processes that can be used for multiple countermeasures; $200 million to create a strategic investment fund to help small companies attract investors to develop countermeasures; $170 million to upgrade regulatory science at FDA; and $33 million to nurture early discovery. The review also calls for the creation of one or more Centers of Innovation for Advanced Development of Manufacturing to focus on new manufacturing methods. HHS said many of the initiatives will involve partnerships with industry.

Separately, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) said it will provide an additional $105 million over five years to fund its ongoing Centers for Countermeasures Against Radiation program. ...