Dr. Rocco Casagrande recently published an op-ed in The New York Times, advocating for the adoption of the strengthened regulatory regime as recommended by the NSABB. The current oversight system is fragmented and contains loopholes that allow for privately funded labs to conduct unsupervised research with pathogens of pandemic potential. Dr. Casagrande noted that the adoption of the proposals elaborated by the NSABB would require action by both the administration and congress, and urges both to act. He recommended the establishment and funding of an US independent government agency to serve as the regulatory agency for biosafety and biosecurity research, analogous to the National Transportation Safety Board or the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, backed by congressional legislation. He also pointed out that similar regulatory regimes exist in countries with robust pathogen research communities, specifically Canada, Germany and Switzerland, and so adoption of these recommendations should not squelch the research community in the US.

Dr. Casagrande, a Gryphon founder who has served as the Managing Director since 2005, was the Principal Investigator of the “Risk and Benefit Assessment of Gain of Function Research” report, a risk and benefit assessment of Gain of Function research involving pathogens of pandemic potential published in 2015.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recently accepted Dr. Casagrande as a member of their new standing committee on biotechnology and national security needs. This committee will enable the national security community to identify advanced biotechnology capabilities, discuss potential barriers or challenges to adoption, and build partnerships between the national security stakeholders and biotechnology experts. The standing committee will explore multiple topics including the applicability of biotechnologies for addressing current or anticipated needs of U.S. national security agencies and the factors, such as workforce, infrastructure, policy, and security, needed to enable technology transition to the national security community. Additionally, the committee will examine the early-stage biotechnology and life science research that demonstrates promising scientific or technical capabilities for addressing national security needs and the innovation ecosystem needed to translate early-stage research into practical application.

On behalf of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Division of Laboratory Systems, Gryphon Scientific and Abt Associates conducted a national survey of clinical laboratories to understand whether and how laboratories would choose to participate in surge testing during a public health emergency.

Between January and September 2021, laboratories that are certified to perform moderate and/or high-complexity testing under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) were randomly selected for participation in the survey, to ensure that a nationally representative sample of clinical laboratories was surveyed. The survey asked about factors that influence a laboratory’s capability, capacity, and willingness to perform surge testing following a chemical, biological (intentional or natural), or radiological incident.

Survey data analysis is in progress. CDC and its public health partners will use the survey data to expand partnerships with the clinical laboratory sector and improve surge testing during the COVID-19 pandemic and future public health emergencies. The survey findings also will be shared with the laboratory community via peer-reviewed publications.

Gryphon Scientific is also collaborating with Healthcare Ready, the Association of Public Health Laboratories, the Association of American Medical Colleges, and the National Marrow Donor Program on this survey project. If you have questions about this survey or want to learn about additional opportunities to become involved in the project, please contact [email protected].