News
Agriculture Department invests more than $27M into foot-and-mouth disease vaccine
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will invest $27.1 million into the purchase of a foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccine for the National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank. The purchase would give the government the means to respond to outbreaks of the disease among... Read More »
Senate Democrat proposals push for efficiency, low costs and wide distribution of COVID-19 vaccine
While an effective COVID-19 vaccine is still being pursued, Senate Democrats released a white paper this week full of proposals to guarantee such vaccines would be provided safely, efficiently and free, while ensuring a distribution wide enough to counter the pandemic. In all, the paper --... Read More »
Rep. Spanberger introduces bill to put limits on Authorization for Use of Military Force
U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) is sponsoring a bill that would establish limits on the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF). The 2001 AUMF — which passed in response to the September 11th terrorist attacks — has been used by presidential administrations to deploy American... Read More »
Air Force participating in DoDʻs COVID-19 convalescent plasma program
The U.S. Air Force is participating in a program launched by the Department of Defense to collect convalescent plasma from COVID-19 patients to be used as a possible treatment for the virus. “We plan to collect more than 8,000 units of plasma from individuals who have recovered from... Read More »
Texas lawmakers seek more COVID-19 resources
A group of Texas legislators recently forwarded correspondence to Health and Human Services (HHS) officials requesting increased resources in response to the Rio Grande Valley COVID-19 surge. Reps. Filemon Vela (D-TX), Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX), Henry Cuellar (D-TX) were joined by Sens. John... Read More »
California CBP personnel offer narcotics seizure report
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel along the California border with Mexico recently reported that, in June, the agency seized 43,000 pounds of narcotics valued at nearly $92 million. Officers at the six land ports of entry were able to foil numerous attempts to smuggle 34,685 pounds... Read More »
House bill builds on State Department reward incentives to identify foreign election interference
New legislation introduced by U.S. Reps. Eliot Engel (D-NY) and Michael McCaul (R-TX) last week -- the Rewards for Providing Information on Foreign Election Interference Act -- would expand an existing State Department program that rewards people for information on foreign election... Read More »
WHO launches independent panel to evaluate world’s COVID-19 response
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has derailed economics, killed more than 569,000 people, and left entire nations on lockdown, and last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the formation of an independent panel to investigate the world’s handling of the disease. The Independent... Read More »
OPCW condemns Syria for 2017 chemical weapons use
The executive council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons’ (OPCW) voted to condemn the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian Arab Republic in 2017. The vote followed an investigation by the OPCW Investigation and Identification Team (IIT), which concluded that there are... Read More »
Reps. Katko, Schneider introduce bill to ensure government ready for COVID second wave
U.S. Reps. John Katko (R-NY) and Brad Schneider (D-IL) introduced legislation to ensure the administration and federal government are fully prepared to respond to the COVID-19 crisis and any future resurgences. “With reports of COVID-19 spiking in most states, Central New York working... Read More »
Secret Service forms Cyber Fraud Task Forces
Secret Service officials said the agency is merging its Electronic Crimes Task Forces (ECTFs) and Financial Crimes Task Forces (FCTFs) to form the Cyber Fraud Task Forces (CFTFs). The action stems from the recognition of the convergence of cyber and traditional financial crimes. “The... Read More »
Bill targets PFAS examination, firefighter exposure
Reps. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) and Bill Posey (R-FL) have introduced a measure they said is designed to examine per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and firefighter exposure to the chemicals. The Guaranteeing Equipment Safety for Firefighters Act of 2020 requires the National Institute of... Read More »
CEPI invests additional $66M into Clover Biopharmaceuticals for COVID-19 vaccine efforts
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Sichuan Clover Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. expanded their partnership last week to guarantee the rapid development and manufacturing of the company’s protein-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate. Known as S-Trimer, the vaccine is based on... Read More »
BARDA and JPEO-CBRND strike two partnerships to expand domestic manufacturing for needles, syringes
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and Department of Defense penned two technology investment agreements focused on boosting domestic manufacturing last week, with Retractable Technologies, Inc. (RTI) and Becton, Dickinson and Co. (BD), respectively. In both... Read More »
House Bill seeks to identify efforts by China to exploit COVID-19
A bill designed to identify and combat efforts by the Chinese government to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Preventing China from Exploiting COVID-19 Act calls upon the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to investigate how the Chinese... Read More »
House leaders ask social media CEOs on their response to COVID-19 misinformation
A group of House Democratic leaders sent letters to the CEOs of the major social media companies to request information on how they are responding to disinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The letters were sent to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Twitter CEO... Read More »
DoD selects Northrop Grumman for Counter-Small Unmanned Aerial System
The Department of Defense (DOD) has selected Northrop Grumman Corporation’s Forward Area Air Defense Command and Control (FAAD C2) system for future Counter-Small Unmanned Aerial System (C-sUAS) procurements. “Our FAAD C2 has been saving lives at Forward Operating Bases and locations around... Read More »
Sandia offers outdoor COVID-19 testing shelter
Sandia National Laboratories personnel is offering design specifications for an outdoor shelter shielding healthcare workers conducting COVID-19 testing on its licensing and technology transfer website. The free design and instruction manual would yield a low-cost, drive-up outdoor shelter. The... Read More »
NIAID merges four clinical trials networks into COVPN, focusing on COVID-19 vaccine and antibody testing
Streamlining processes this week, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) created a new clinical trials network to gather thousands of volunteers together for testing of various investigational vaccines and monoclonal antibodies for use against COVID-19. NIAID -- a part... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions, Mount Sinai Health System, and ImmunoTek Bio Centers to develop COVID-HIG candidate
Together with $34.6 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), Mountain Sinai Health System, Emergent BioSolutions and ImmunoTek Bio Centers will collaborate on the development of a hyperimmune globulin treatment for COVID-19. That treatment, known as COVID-HIG, was created by... Read More »
Senators introduce bill that would require plan for pandemic testing
A bill that would require a plan for diagnostic testing and public health system integration for COVID-19 and future pandemics was introduced in the U.S. Senate this week. The bill, the Timely and Effective Systematic Testing (TEST) Act, was introduced by Sens. Cory Gardner (R-CO), Michael... Read More »
Reps. LaHood, Bustos request Air Force long-term fleet plan
Reps. Darin LaHood (R-IL) and Cheri Bustos (D-IL) are calling upon Air Force personnel to provide a long-term C-130 aircraft fleet management plan. The representatives recently forwarded correspondence to the House Committee on Armed Services regarding the request amid the committee’s work on... Read More »
Laredo CBP intercept hard narcotics worth over $11M
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations (OFO) personnel in Laredo, Texas, recently executed actions resulting in the interception of narcotics valued at more than $11.4 million. "These drugs will not reach Main Street USA due to the efforts of the officers in our cargo... Read More »
HHS, DoD partner with Regeneron for large-scale manufacturing demonstration of potential COVID-19 treatment
Pressing forward with a potential antibody treatment for COVID-19 known as REGN-COV2, the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Defense (DoD) announced an agreement with Regeneron, Inc. this week that will culminate in a commercial-scale manufacturing demonstration. REGN-COV2... Read More »
Novavax gains $1.6 billion from HHS, DoD for millions of potential vaccine doses
Rewards are rolling out from the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed this week, including $1.6 billion -- allotted from the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Defense (DoD) -- given to Novavax, Inc. for 100 million doses of a possible COVID-19 vaccine. While the... Read More »
Trump decision to withdraw from WHO draws negative reactions from health officials, lawmakers
The Trump administration filed a notice to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization, senior officials with the administration confirmed to various news outlets. The move has been received negatively by key Democratic and Republican lawmakers, as well as leading health... Read More »
Bill would require transnational response to global white supremacy terrorist threat
A bill designed to strengthen the U.S. government’s counter-terrorism efforts against transnational white supremacy and identity groups was introduced in Congress. The Countering Global White Supremacist Terrorism Act directs the U.S. Department of State to assess the global threat of the... Read More »
DHS S&T targets security technology transition
The George Washington University has been selected by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) to aid the effort focusing on security technology transition (STT). The university would establish a new Center of Excellence (COE) delivering a pilot Master... Read More »
Senate delegation seeks delayed removal of Turkey from fighter jet supply chain
Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) has forwarded correspondence to the Department of Defense regarding the timeline for removing Turkey from the F-35 Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter supply chain. In the letter to Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Lankford joined Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Thom Tillis... Read More »
FDA issues emergency use authorization for second SARS-CoV-2 antigen test: BD Veritor System
A second COVID-19 antigen diagnostic test has been added to the United States arsenal this week, under an emergency use authorization (EUA) issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the Becton Dickinson (BD) Veritor System. “Expanding America’s testing capabilities is the... Read More »
Chembio Diagnostics, BARDA work together on point of care COVID-19 diagnostic
A new partnership for the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority’s (BARDA) ongoing efforts to grapple with COVID-19 has united it with Chembio Diagnostics, Inc. in an attempt to create a point-of-care in vitro diagnostic test. If successful, that test would be capable of... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions signs manufacturing agreement with J&J on COVID-19 vaccine candidate
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. struck a five-year manufacturing services agreement with Johnson & Johnson's Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. for its investigational COVID-19 vaccine. Emergent will provide contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) services for large-scale drug substance... Read More »
House bill would require DNI to investigate Chinese government on COVID-19 pandemic
U.S. Reps. Max Rose (D-NY) Kendra Horn (D-OK), and Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) introduced legislation requiring the U.S. government to combat efforts by the Chinese government to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic. The Preventing China from Exploiting COVID-19 Act requires the Director of National... Read More »
Smiths Detection launches new algorithms to enhance airport scanner detection capabilities.
Smiths Detection -- a leader in threat detection and screening technologies for aviation, ports, and borders, urban security and defense -- has launched new algorithms that enhance its HI-SCAN 10080 XCT explosive-detection system (EDS) scanner’s detection capabilities. Smiths iCMORE detection... Read More »