THE United Nations plans to establish a dedicated unit that will be headed by Vasella, the Novartis ceo, and reportedly will be staffed by security experts from around the world. The UN declined to comment. But Vasella has reportedly agreed to head up the unit, although the 53-year-old will remain with the drugmaker.

His participation is significant because the pharmaceutical and biotech industries have traditionally been wary of taking part in such initiatives, in case their intellectual property rights are compromised. Novartis declined to comment.

The UN has a number of security groups, and bio-terrorism currently falls under their sway. The new dedicated unit will take over responsibility and advise on how to enforce strict rules prohibiting the development of biological weapons. It will also look at how to increase security around recent scientific advances.

A source in the UN’s Department for Disarmament Affairs said no decision had yet been taken about how much power the unit would have, and that Ban Ki-moon, Annan’s replacement, was still considering its reach. The unit is expected to be operational by the end of this year.

This is a double-edged sword, of course. On one hand, someone of Vasella’s background can be particularly useful when it comes to access to knowledge of drug and vaccine development. On the other hand, Vasella also represents an entity that, theoretically, stands to benefit from certain decisions. Curious to see the terms outlining his participation.

Source: The Business[tags]BioTerrorism, Dan Vasella, Novartis, United Nations[/tags]