U.S. firm co-hosts French bio-defense meet

ROCKVILLE, Md., Sept. 12 (UPI)

U.S. company Emergent BioSolutions Inc. was a co-host for a bio-preparedness conference in France on the threat of attack using anthrax.

The Paris conference, conducted with the French High Committee for Civil Defense, brought together military and civilian representatives involved in biological threat management in France and featured discussions on research programs, threat detection, hospital and medical chain preparedness, anthrax prevention through vaccination, decontamination of critical infrastructure and global response strategies.

"Emergent (was) pleased to co-host this conference as part of our efforts to raise global awareness of bio-preparedness," said Allen Shofe, senior vice president of corporate affairs, Emergent BioSolutions.

"In this dialogue and sharing of best practices, we hope to leverage our company's extensive experience in the development, manufacture, and delivery of medical counter-measures that are a critical component of the U.S. government's bio-defense strategy for national security."

Attendees included researchers, physicians, first responders and high-level officials in charge of procurement and deployment of detection, medical countermeasures and decontamination initiatives. Representatives of the European Commission and the British government were also involved in the conference.

The French High Committee for Civil Defense is an international non-profit organization composed of state assemblies, community leaders and other stakeholders focused on issues related to national security.