Holes in the Science Net [Wash. Post - Editorial]
washingtonpost.com
Sunday, October 21, 2001; Page B06
WITH ANTHRAX in the headlines, the scientific agencies that shape American medical research are suddenly front and center. So it's disturbing that two of those agencies, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health, have been languishing without permanent leadership. Another chair sitting empty has been that of the White House science adviser; confirmation hearings for the nominee, John Marburger, finally got started Tuesday.
Many elements of defense against biological attack rest with the agencies overseen by these officials. NIH researchers are doing clinical trials to see whether the existing 15 million doses of smallpox vaccine can be "stretched" to cover five or 10 times as many people in case of a smallpox outbreak. Others are working on advanced techniques to detect anthrax or smallpox without waiting days for cultures. Many scientists will be looking for better versions of the anthrax and smallpox vaccines we already have, an effort that will require the active engagement both of the NIH, with its networks of clinical researchers, and the FDA, which must grant permits for applied drug research and production.
In normal times, these agencies run smoothly enough without aggressive leadership, and the acting directors of both are competent. But the times are not normal. The sole supplier of anthrax vaccine has had production suspended for more than a year in a dispute with the FDA over quality control -- the kind of entanglement that high-level attention might unsnarl. The likely flood of new money into drug and vaccine research will demand discipline within agencies and accountability to the public. The president needs a circle of top scientists, particularly the science adviser, who can manage and translate information for him on the technical side of bioterrorism.
Pre-Sept. 11 politics account for most of the delays. Confirming an FDA commissioner is traditionally a struggle, as issues such as tobacco control and the speed of new drug approvals become ever more contentious. Filling the NIH job reportedly has been delayed because of jitters over possible Senate grilling on stem cells. But the August compromise on that issue laid it at least temporarily to rest. The Senate should confirm the White House science adviser, and it and the White House should quickly install strong figures at both NIH and FDA. |
