Emergent BioSolutions sponsors discussion on biopreparedness
in Europe
20 October 2009
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. has sponsored the Security and
Defence Agenda’s (SDA) roundtable discussion, Raising
Biopreparedness Levels in Europe, which examined European efforts
in preparing and reacting to various biological threats and the
potential for European cooperation in these areas.
Attended by officials and experts from the security, defence, and health
communities across Europe, the roundtable discussion was designed to
elevate awareness among professionals in the European Union (EU) about
the importance of biopreparedness against naturally-occurring pandemics
and bioterrorist attacks.
The EU is working to find the best formula to assess threats, which
requires building confidence mechanisms across borders and allowing for
better information exchange between the member states’ intelligence
services.
Panel speakers from NATO, the European Commission, and the Office of
the EU counterterrorism co-ordinator shared their experiences and
expressed their views on how to ensure civilian and military safety in
Europe. In view of the expected Lisbon Treaty to come into force, the
solidarity among European member states is expected to further increase
and possible responses could be found in regional approaches.
“Emergent BioSolutions applauds SDA for understanding both the
urgency and importance of comprehensive, region-wide biopreparedness,”
said Allen Shofe, senior vice president for public affairs of Emergent
BioSolutions. “The SDA has demonstrated a strong commitment to
biopreparedness and bio-related issues since its inception in 2002.
Today’s roundtable is particularly timely as the European Commission had
recently launched its CBRN Action Plan, which provides a solid
foundation for increased biopreparedness.”
Biopreparedness includes the development of a comprehensive and
executable preparedness and response plan well in advance of an actual
biological incident. The plan encompasses research and development of
medical countermeasures and their subsequent approval and procurement
for government stockpiles, authorization of their use, and logistics for
transporting and dispensing these medical countermeasures in the event
of an attack.