April 13 Apr 13
2015
Monday Mon

The Public Policy Battle

Regarding Engaging the Biopharmaceutical Industry in the Development of Medical Countermeasures for Bioterror and Infectious Diseases

Without the availability of medical countermeasures (MCMs), a bioterror attack or an Ebola outbreak leads quickly to panic and quarantines. This means that the development of MCMs – including diagnostics, preventative vaccines, and therapeutics – is crucial in managing the crisis. Chuck will discuss his work in engaging the biopharmaceutical companies to develop MCMs. The bills that Chuck drafted in the Senate have paved a way to President Bush’s BioShield proposal and the enactment of the four main laws responding to the anthrax attack. He’ll discuss the many disincentives that exist to diminish interest on the part of the biopharma industry in developing biosecurity MCMs. He’ll explain the full range of incentives and reassurance that have been proposed and why they have been so controversial. He’ll discuss the strategy for creating a biodefense industry that is ready and able to respond to any and all bioterror or infectious disease pathogens. He’ll explain the Soviet biopathogen program’s focus on development of genetically enhanced and novel pathogens with surprising and complicated chains of symptoms, including autoimmune peptides, virus and toxin hybrid pathogens, neuromodulating peptides, and bioregulators, as well as antibiotic resistant (e.g. anthrax), hybrid (e.g. plague-diphtheria), and hemorrhagic pathogens. He’ll also discuss the possible use of synthetic biology to create pathogens. He’ll discuss the development of platform technologies that will enable the United States to quickly develop MCMs to respond to novel or unanticipated pathogens.

Location

Stanford University School of Medicine
291 Campus Dr.
Palo Alto, CA 94305
USA

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Stanford University School of Medicine

291 Campus Dr.
Palo Alto, CA 94305
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Speaker

Chuck Ludlam, JD (retired)

Chuck Ludlam, JD (retired): Chuck graduated from Stanford (’67) and the University of Michigan Law School (’72). He served as a Stanford in Government (SIG) intern in ’65 and ’67 and for the past 35 years has served as the principal  alumni advisor and mentor for SIG. He was a key player in founding of the Stanford in Washington Program  and Haas Center for Public Service. The headquarters for Stanford in Government (SIG) at Haas Center is named the "Chuck Ludlam Room." Chuck was one of 200 alumni awarded Stanford University Centennial Medallions (1991) to honor service to the University during centennial celebrations of the University's founding in 1891.