[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 34 (Thursday, March 16, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E399]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




AERAS GLOBAL TB VACCINE FOUNDATION'S RESEARCH FACILITY IN ROCKVILLE, MD

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 16, 2006

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, we are marking a milestone in the global 
fight against one of the world's most deadly diseases--tuberculosis.
  In Rockville, MD, the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation opened a new 
research and production facility to meet the world's need for an 
advanced tuberculosis vaccine. The Aeras Foundation is currently 
testing multiple TB vaccine candidates. The facility will be capable of 
producing 150 million doses of vaccine per year. It will use the most 
advanced medical research and manufacturing technologies and will serve 
as Aeras's headquarters as well as its research and production center.
  The world badly needs a new TB vaccine. More than 1.75 million people 
die from this disease every year: It is second only to AIDS as the 
world's deadliest infectious disease. The World Health Organization 
estimates that there are 8.8 million new cases of TB every year. TB is 
also the leading cause of death among people diagnosed with AIDS, 
accounting for about 13 percent of AIDS deaths worldwide.
  The current TB vaccine, known as BCG, is nearly 100 years old and was 
developed in the early 20th century. One of the most widely used 
children's vaccines in the world, BCG is largely ineffective against TB 
in adults, who comprise the majority of TB cases.
  A new vaccine is the best hope for controlling TB, because 
vaccination is the only medical intervention that has eliminated an 
infectious disease. This was the case with smallpox, and today, global 
polio vaccinations efforts are bringing closer the day when this human 
disease will be eliminated.
  A better TB vaccine may be in reach within the next decade. At least 
four candidate vaccines have entered human trials recently, and others 
are in the development pipeline.
  I am pleased that the Aeras Foundation has decided to make its home 
in the community I represent in the U.S. Congress. The Aeras Foundation 
was founded in 1997 for the purpose of developing new concepts and 
tools to control the global TB epidemic. Today, it is the only non-
profit organization in the world working through public-private 
partnerships with the sole focus of developing new vaccines against TB 
and ensuring their production and availability to all who need them.

  In 2004, the Aeras Foundation received a grant of $82.9 million from 
the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for new TB vaccine development. It 
has also received funding support from the U.S. Center for Disease 
Control and Prevention and the Government of Denmark.
  Dr. Jerald C. Sadoff, president and CEO of the Aeras Foundation, has 
devoted more than three decades to developing vaccines for dozens of 
diseases, including malaria and chicken pox, and is one of the world's 
leading experts in this field. He and his team of researchers and 
scientists are dedicated to saving the lives of millions of people in 
some of the poorest places in the world from the scourge of this 
disease. But TB is not just a disease characteristic of the developing 
world; there are an estimated 8 cases per 100,000 people in Europe and 
5 cases per 100,000 people here in the United States.
  This month we will celebrate World Tuberculosis Day, a day to 
heighten awareness of and rededicate ourselves to the search for a TB 
vaccine. That goal is closer to reality thanks to the tireless work of 
the skilled and talented men and women of the Aeras Foundation at their 
new facility in Rockville, MD. I wish them the greatest success in 
their important and noble mission.

                          ____________________