The Project BioShield Act of 2004: An Innovative Failure

Abstract

On July 21, 2004, the President signed into law the Project BioShield Act of 2004. This legislation was intended to stimulate research, development, and procurement of countermeasures against biological, chemical, radiological or nuclear agents that may be used in a terrorist attack against the United States, given America’s demonstrated and increasing vulnerability to these attacks, as well as the deficit in countermeasures to prevent and ameliorate the effects of such attacks. Despite the innovative provisions of the Act, is has been largely a failure and has not properly incentivized the private pharmaceutical industry to develop these needed products. This paper examines the Act and the criticism surrounding its implementation. The paper then evaluates alternatives to the Project BioShield Act, including BioShield II, now pending in the 109th Congress. The paper concludes by finding that the Project BioShield Act is a good first step in addressing biodefense, but Congress needs to go farther to order to respond to America’s vulnerabilities to a biological terrorist attack.