Health committee  Yes, I can hear you just fine.

Industry committee  Canada has been a leader in research on understanding epidemics and on prevention technologies. I would like to see emphasis on that, both on prevention with simple strategies that are available now and on HIV vaccines and microbicides.

Industry committee  Well, from my understanding of the situation and listening to the witnesses, I can't really speak to flaws in this area; it's not my area of expertise. But obviously many countries around the world have similar legislation that hasn't been accessed. My understanding is that ant

Industry committee  Yes. I would say that we need multiple mechanisms, and the Government of Canada is doing that. The Gates Foundation contributes to the global fund, to GAVI, to other similar multilateral bodies, and I would think we should continue to do that.

Industry committee  My experience is largely limited to Kenya, and there drugs are procured through the global fund and its processes. In terms of what the Canadian government is doing, its contributions have primarily been financial, to things like the global fund, and organizations like GAVI, t

Industry committee  Is that directed to me?

Industry committee  I don't have any experience with CAMR directly. Certainly the regulatory strength and procurement skills in many developing countries are quite challenged. I expect that could be a problem, but I don't have any personal experience with this issue.

Industry committee  Good morning again. My name is Frank Plummer. I'm the scientific director of the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg and the chief scientific officer with the Public Health Agency of Canada. I'm also a distinguished professor at the University of Manitoba and a physici

Industry committee  Good morning.

Industry committee  Sure. Hello, everybody. It's good to be here early in the morning in Seattle.

Health committee  Yes, Madam Chair. In terms of the experience of the National Microbiology Laboratory, my own experience, and that of my scientists, who I consulted on this yesterday, we have had no difficulty accessing manufacturing capacity for high-quality clinical-grade material for vaccine

Health committee  Certainly, Madam Chair. I was recused from the process. I had no knowledge of what was happening in the review and no knowledge of the outcomes of the review. I don't even know who the members of the review committee were. I certainly know of no political interference in any st

Health committee  Yes, I would, Madam Chair. I will just illustrate to the committee how rapidly things change. The failure of one vaccine trial, the so-called STEP trial--I believe it was announced in 2008--cast a tremendous pall over the whole field of HIV vaccines. The vaccine that people thou

Health committee  I don't think there is a requirement for further study at this point. It's my own experience, from where I sit at the National Microbiology Laboratory, that there is manufacturing capacity for trial lots, including some in Canada, and that further study is not required. I think w

Health committee  Yes, I would, Madam Chair. I would like to remind the committee that the identification of a gap in manufacturing capacity was the result of an analysis done in 2003. It became part of the strategic plan of the global enterprise. So considerable manufacturing capacity came on-str