U.S. Bioterror Plan Frustrates Industry

From eweek.com:

"Project BioShield was supposed to jump-start a national security renaissance in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries by guaranteeing contracts to make drugs for combatting potential bioweapons.

But all the law has done so far is to generate indifference or frustration among biodefense contractors, industry executives and experts say. Most are snubbing the program because of liability and intellectual property issues and confusion over what the government wants.

The corporate response to BioShield is summed up in a new study, by the Center for Biosecurity at the University of Pittsburgh, that criticizes the government's fuzzy mandate and concludes that the nation remains highly vulnerable to a biological attack."