Countermeasures
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) met with New Mexico National Guard officials in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Saturday to discuss increasing resources for counter drug efforts along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Additional talks included efforts to enable the New Mexico National Guard to become the first... Read More »
An independent panel of public health, emergency response and communication experts issued a report on Friday on the Ebola epidemic of 2014, identifying recommendations to improve the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) response to urgent public health threats.
Concerns... Read More »
The Partnership for Research on Ebola virus in Liberia (PREVAIL) on Monday opened PREVAIL IV, a treatment trial for men who have survived Ebola virus disease (EVD) but continue to have evidence of Ebola virus genetic material - RNA - in their semen.
The trial is sponsored by the National... Read More »
The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) moved forward on Friday with its preparations for a public-private partnership to deploy and operate a nationwide public safety broadband network.
During their meeting in Chicago, the FirstNet board of directors provided strategic guidance for... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) allocated $275 million on Wednesday for six FY2016 DHS competitive preparedness and grant programs to support state, local, tribal and territorial partners.
The grant program funds come in addition to the more than $1.3 billion in non-competitive... Read More »
FLIR Systems acquired Armasight, Inc., a leading developer of precision sporting, hunting and military optics products, for approximately $41 million on Wednesday.
"The addition of Armasight to our existing scopes and sights business provides us with meaningful additional scale and injects... Read More »
A coalition of research institutions published a report in the Clinical Infectious Disease Journal on Wednesday that analyzed the immune responses of Ebola patients treated in the United States.
The coalition includes the U.S. Centers for Disease and Control (CDC), the Emory University School... Read More »
With the goal of improving U.S. threat preparedness, U.S. Rep. Daniel Donovan (R-NY), who serves on the House Homeland Security Committee, recently introduced legislation to help fight potential terror attacks in urban areas and in cyberspace.
Donovan recently introduced the Terrorist Asset... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on Tuesday that found that the National Guard, part of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), has made progress incorporating the Homeland Response Force (HRF) into the chemical, biological radiological and nuclear (CBRN) response... Read More »
The National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) released a report on Tuesday detailing how a single dose of either of two experimental Zika vaccines protected mice infected with the virus for four to eight weeks after receiving the inoculations.
NIAID said that this... Read More »
Lockheed Martin’s Q-53 counter fire radar last week demonstrated its ability to identify and track unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and pass that information to a command and control node.
Lockheed said that this capability will assist forces in a crowded battle space with emerging air threats.... Read More »
Researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) presented data on Monday regarding gene sequences and the global variations in malaria parasites.
NIAID researchers determined the genomes of approximately 200 P. vivax strains that recently infected people in... Read More »
The European Center for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) produced a policy briefing on Monday highlighting preparedness measures to minimize the risk of Zika virus spreading in continental Europe.
The briefing is primarily to protect pregnant women and those who wish to become pregnant,... Read More »
The Greater Rochester International Airport, in a partnership with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department, expanded its canine explosives detection program on Friday.
A German Shepherd named Lola recently completed a three-month training... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions, Inc.’s Center for Innovation in Advanced Development and Manufacturing (CIADM) received a task order on Monday valued at up to $21.9 million from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to develop and manufacture a Zika vaccine.
Three cGMP lots... Read More »
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation and the Internet held a hearing on Tuesday to examine the progress of FirstNet, the first nationwide, high-speed network dedicated to public safety.
Chairman of the Subcommittee... Read More »
The Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) assisted the United States Armed Forces this month in protecting warfighters from exposure to chemical agents that could contaminate the coatings of contemporary combat vehicles.
ECBC researchers who specialize in material decontamination learned... Read More »
The United States Senate voted 58-38 on Wednesday to reject an amendment that would enable the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to more quickly obtain the electronic transaction records of suspected terrorists.
The amendment was offered by U.S. Sens. Richard Burr (R-NC) and John McCain... Read More »
A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers introduced legislation on Wednesday to protect critical energy infrastructure from potentially catastrophic cyber attacks.
The Securing Energy Infrastructure Act of 2016 was co-sponsored by U.S. Sens. Jim Risch (R-ID), Angus King (I-ME), Martin Heinrich (D-NM)... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives passed two cybersecurity bills on Tuesday that were authored by U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX).
“Over the last several years we’ve witnessed evolving cybersecurity threats from nation-states such as China, Russia, North Korea and Iran, and from criminal... Read More »
The National Institutes of Health (NIH), along with the scientific research organization Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, began a multi-country study on Tuesday to evaluate the magnitude of the health risks that Zika virus infection poses on pregnant women and their developing fetuses and infants.... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Donald Payne, Jr. (D-NJ), held a field hearing on Tuesday on how to better understand how transit operators and first responders prevent, prepare for and respond to incidents on mass transit.
The hearing, titled “Protecting Our Passengers: Perspectives on Securing Surface... Read More »
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates one of the busiest networks of aviation, ground, rail and seaport facilities in the nation, is preparing to deliver a new counter-terrorism and personal safety-training program for its employees.
“We always tell people, if you see... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued two solicitation notices on Tuesday related to the development and procurement of anthrax vaccines for the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), a move that Emergent BioSolutions, Inc., said shows the government’s intent to maintain an... Read More »
U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) voted in favor of H.R. 5293 on Friday to strengthen the military’s ability to combat terrorist threats posed by militant groups like ISIL and al Qaeda.
“A primary duty of the federal government as enumerated in the Constitution is to provide for the common... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) completed its Pre-Approval Inspection (PAI) of Emergent BioSolutions, Inc.’s Building 55 for the large-scale manufacturing of BioThrax (anthrax vaccine adsorbed).
Following the PAI’s conclusion, Emergent BioSolutions received a No Action Indicated... Read More »
The International Association of Fire Chiefs Foundation (IAFCF) selected 10 first responders and safety officers on Friday for the 2016 Hazmat Conference Scholarship Awards.
The scholarships, made possible by a grant from Emergent BioSolutions, Inc., provides each recipient with full conference... Read More »
The Defense Information Systems Agency’s (DISA) Defense Spectrum Organization (DSO) named Alion Science and Technology on Wednesday as an awardee of a five-year, multiple-award contract valued up to $137 million to assist the military’s access to wireless spectrum frequencies.
Alion will... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) released data from a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on Wednesday that shows that approximately 91 percent of known or suspected terrorists passed a background check to purchase a firearm or explosives between Feb. 2004 and Dec. 2015.
The GAO... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Bill Nelson (R-FL) urged the president on Wednesday to reevaluate the Relative Risk Score Threat Level applied to the Orlando area so that it qualifies for funding under the Urban Area Security Initiative.
The two senators sent letters to the Obama... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions, Inc.’s supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) seeking approval for the manufacture of BioThrax (anthrax vaccine adsorbed) at the company’s Building 55 was accepted for review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week.
“Emergent’s... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) began its new Prometheus program on Monday to identify prognostic biomarkers that indicate contagiousness following infection but prior to symptoms appearing in a patient.
Prometheus will seek to discover a minimal set of molecular... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Tuesday selected the California Department of Health, in partnership with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is Los Angeles, to serve a region covering Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada and the Pacific Islands.
With its selection, Cedar-Sinai... Read More »
The House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee held a hearing on Tuesday concerning the U.S. public health response to antibiotic resistant bacteria, otherwise known as “superbugs.”
The hearing was initiated after the discovery of the MCR-1 gene in a Pennsylvania woman who contracted... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted orphan drug status to Emergent BioSolutions, Inc., on Wednesday for BioThrax (anthrax vaccine adsorbed) for post-exposure prophylaxis of anthrax disease from suspected or confirmed exposure to Bacillus anthraces.
BioThrax is the only... Read More »
