To ensure national security in the face of potential biological threats, the U.S. government relies on partnership with biotech companies, said federal officials at the opening of the BIO International Convention yesterday.
Why it matters: Biotechnology is a national security imperative—and a strategic priority for BIO—because resilience and the ability to safeguard public health are paramount.
What they’re doing: Department of Defense (DOD) preparation ranges from identifying gaps in early warning systems to identifying and surveilling threats to developing and distributing solutions, said David Smith, M.D., Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Readiness Policy and Oversight at DOD.
“We need to shorten solution development now,” throughout all stages of the process, continued Smith, who also noted the role of biotech in the process.
How we get there: When determining what the government needs from private industry, whether it’s masks or new vaccines, federal agencies need to share data with each other and with industry, said Dawn O’Connell, Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The bottom line: The government and biotech are aligned on many of thesee goals because of “our shared commitment to minimizing preventable illness and death,” said Paul Friedrichs, MD, Maj. Gen. (ret), Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response at the White House.
Read more at Bio.News.
