BIO Applauds Senate Passage of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act
Legislation will strengthen pipeline of medical countermeasures against serious public health threats
Washington, DC (May 17, 2019) – The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) today applauds the Senate passage of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation (PAHPAI) Act (S. 1379). The legislation would re-authorize critical federal biodefense programs and agencies, including the BioShield Special Reserve Fund (SRF), the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), and the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS). The legislation also authorizes funding for pandemic influenza product development and procurement for the first time.
The following statement may be attributed to BIO President and CEO Jim Greenwood:
“Over the past 16 years, federal biodefense programs have spurred the creation of dozens of medical countermeasures by the biotechnology industry, greatly improving our nation’s preparedness to respond to the many known and unknown chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats (CBRN) facing our nation,” said BIO President and CEO Jim Greenwood. “But as the number and scale of threats continues to grow, these programs are needed now more than ever."
“This bipartisan legislation will provide critical flexibility and predictability for government agencies and their private sector partners by authorizing increased, multi-year funding for the BioShield Special Reserve Fund and by empowering BARDA to better address CBRN threat agents, pandemic influenza, emerging infectious diseases, and antimicrobial resistance. The investments in preparedness and medical countermeasure development enabled by this legislation will save lives, enhance our response efforts, and be more cost effective in an emergency.”
“I thank Senators Richard Burr, Bob Casey, as well as HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander and Ranking Member Patty Murray for their bipartisan leadership crafting and advancing this critical legislation. In addition, I applaud Senator Tammy Baldwin for her championship of pandemic influenza preparedness, which will significantly bolster our nation’s ability to respond to the emergence of novel influenza viruses.”