Phrma称：全国天花疫苗的供应将在2002年第三季度之前准
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;WASHINGTON (Reuters Health) - US vaccine makers are "up to the effort" of manufacturing 300 million doses of smallpox vaccine by the third quarter of next year, an industry representative told lawmakers on Friday.
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;The Department of Health and Human Services has pared down its list of potential contractors for the vaccine from 10 to four, and those companies are currently in negotiations to begin ramping up vaccine production, said Dr. Michael Friedman, who recently became Chief Medical Officer for Biomedical Preparedness at Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.
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&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;Moves to rapidly increase America's store of smallpox vaccine are working on two main fronts: drug firms are gearing up to make new vaccine and studies are being conducted to see whether existing stocks can be diluted. The US currently stocks 15.4 million doses of smallpox vaccine. None has been manufactured over the last two decades.
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;Friedman said that Americans could expect 300 million vaccine doses--enough for everyone in the population--by "the middle third quarter" of the 2002 calendar year.
, 百拇医药
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;But Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) told companies and federal officials to "go back to the drawing board" to try to speed that timeline. "The question is how fast can it be done...if money is not an object," said Specter, the ranking member of the Senate Appropriations health subcommittee. The Bush Administration has requested $509 million for procuring smallpox vaccine, though Congress has not yet acted on the proposal.
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;To complement the vaccine effort, researchers are conducting studies to see if antiviral drugs might be effective as a backup in case of a smallpox emergency, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, who heads the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Scientists are testing cidofovir, a drug originally developed to treat cytomegalovirus infectious in AIDS patients, he noted.
, 百拇医药
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;But local officials cautioned that research efforts could be in vain if Congress fails to give high priority to state and local health departments as it considers emergency spending of up to $20 billion in the coming weeks.
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;"With smallpox, all the vaccine in the world isn't going to do any good without the capacity to distribute and administer vaccine locally," said Dr. Anita Barry, the communicable disease control director for the Boston Public Health Commission. "And one thing is very clear: the current levels of staffing, planning and preparedness at the local level are not enough, even in cities that have initiated bioterrorism preparedness."
, 百拇医药
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;She called on Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge to establish a commission of local health authorities to coordinate with federal officials on readiness for bioterror attacks.
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;Lawmakers were sympathetic, noting that they plan to pour $2.3 billion to $3.1 billion into the vaccine and local preparedness effort. Local health departments represent the "front lines" of fighting against any biological attack, acknowledged Sen. Robert Byrd, a West Virginia Democrat who chairs the Appropriations Committee., 百拇医药
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;The Department of Health and Human Services has pared down its list of potential contractors for the vaccine from 10 to four, and those companies are currently in negotiations to begin ramping up vaccine production, said Dr. Michael Friedman, who recently became Chief Medical Officer for Biomedical Preparedness at Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.
, http://www.100md.com
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;Moves to rapidly increase America's store of smallpox vaccine are working on two main fronts: drug firms are gearing up to make new vaccine and studies are being conducted to see whether existing stocks can be diluted. The US currently stocks 15.4 million doses of smallpox vaccine. None has been manufactured over the last two decades.
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;Friedman said that Americans could expect 300 million vaccine doses--enough for everyone in the population--by "the middle third quarter" of the 2002 calendar year.
, 百拇医药
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;But Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) told companies and federal officials to "go back to the drawing board" to try to speed that timeline. "The question is how fast can it be done...if money is not an object," said Specter, the ranking member of the Senate Appropriations health subcommittee. The Bush Administration has requested $509 million for procuring smallpox vaccine, though Congress has not yet acted on the proposal.
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;To complement the vaccine effort, researchers are conducting studies to see if antiviral drugs might be effective as a backup in case of a smallpox emergency, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, who heads the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Scientists are testing cidofovir, a drug originally developed to treat cytomegalovirus infectious in AIDS patients, he noted.
, 百拇医药
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;But local officials cautioned that research efforts could be in vain if Congress fails to give high priority to state and local health departments as it considers emergency spending of up to $20 billion in the coming weeks.
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;"With smallpox, all the vaccine in the world isn't going to do any good without the capacity to distribute and administer vaccine locally," said Dr. Anita Barry, the communicable disease control director for the Boston Public Health Commission. "And one thing is very clear: the current levels of staffing, planning and preparedness at the local level are not enough, even in cities that have initiated bioterrorism preparedness."
, 百拇医药
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;She called on Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge to establish a commission of local health authorities to coordinate with federal officials on readiness for bioterror attacks.
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;Lawmakers were sympathetic, noting that they plan to pour $2.3 billion to $3.1 billion into the vaccine and local preparedness effort. Local health departments represent the "front lines" of fighting against any biological attack, acknowledged Sen. Robert Byrd, a West Virginia Democrat who chairs the Appropriations Committee., 百拇医药