House approves 'Bioshield' bill, but industry remains concerned

The House overwhelmingly approved a bill Wednesday to implement President Bush's "Project Bioshield." But the measure, which passed the House 421-2, remains stalled in the Senate, and the industry group representing those at whom it is aimed said its members still are not totally satisfied with either version.

The bill would provide up to $5.6 billion over the next 10 years to guarantee a market to private firms that develop diagnostic tests, treatments and vaccines to combat germs most likely to be used by bioterrorists. These include smallpox, anthrax, plague, Ebola virus and botulinum toxin. It also would authorize the HHS secretary to allow use of vaccines, drugs or treatments not yet approved by FDA in emergency situations.

House members on the floor praised both the product and the process by which three committees-Energy and Commerce, Government Reform and Homeland Security-worked out their differences on the measure.

"This legislation is the product of a good-faith, bipartisan process," said Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee ranking member Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio.

Government Reform Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., echoed the concerns of many that if the United States were the subject of a bioterrorist attack, "the need would be great, and it would be immediate," yet few modern tests or treatments exist for many of the most likely weapons.

But Gillian Woollett of the Biotechnology Industry Organization, whose members are considered most likely to use the new incentives, said while much progress has been made, "we're still in the 'yes, if' mode."

Specifically, Woollett said, firms remain concerned about possible liability issues, as well as prohibitions on "secondary" uses for the products.