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Gary Nabel, M.D., Director
Dr. Gary Nabel provided an annual update on VRC funding, objectives, and activities. VRC’s $81 million budget for FY 2003 includes $30 million for biodefense, of which significant monies will fund a production facility for both HIV and biodefense vaccines. VRC also devotes major funding to development of an AIDS preventive vaccine and has completed a Phase I DNA clinical trial for a promising vaccine. Other VRC efforts include work on vaccines for the Ebola virus, SARS, smallpox, and West Nile virus. As a model for accelerating the pace of vaccine development, Dr. Nabel cited the scientific community’s rapid response in determining the causative agent in the SARs epidemic.
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