Funding a Specific Innovation

The world is desperate for a flue vaccine production technology that can be ramped up very quickly in the case of a pandemic. So the federal government is handing out huge grants to the most likely players. Although a similar drive to achieve put a man on the moon, it remains to be seen whether we are currently on the right track and whether extra money will speed up the development process. The U.S. government would do well to cover the risk by spreading a little funding to alternative technologies.

Link: WSJ.com - U.S. Awards $1 Billion In Flu-Vaccine Contracts by Jennifer Corbett Dooren, May 4, 2006

Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said the goal of the contracts would be to allow all Americans to receive a flu vaccine that could protect against a pandemic virus within six months of the time it appears a new flu virus is circulating among humans. Pandemic influenza occurs when a new virus emerges that humans have no natural immunity to and is a virus that can spread easily among humans.

The current chicken egg-based technology used to produce vaccines simply can't produce enough vaccines to protect nearly 300 million Americans in the event of a flu pandemic, Leavitt said. Cell-based technology would also allow for increased production of annual, seasonal influenza vaccines and would eliminate periodic shortages.