Senate committee passes BioShield, pediatric bills

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee on Wednesday unanimously endorsed two bills, the Project BioShield Act and the Pediatric Drugs Research Authority Act. The Project BioShield Act, which was requested by President Bush, authorizes the government to make advance purchases of vaccines, devices or drugs for anthrax and botulism toxin and other designated biowarfare threats. The bill also authorizes the FDA to permit use of such investigational treatments in emergency situations. Provisions providing liability protection for vaccine manufacturers and compensation for people injured by smallpox vaccines were stripped from the biodefense bill (S. 15) because Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and other Democrats on the HELP committee opposed them. Committee Chairman Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) said he will soon reintroduce next week the vaccine provisions, including one that would limit liability to Eli Lilly (LLY) from litigation associated with thimerosol, a mercury-based vaccine preservative. ...