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Adam R Houston

@healthlawadamh.bsky.social

Health/Law/Human Rights. Thinking globally, meeting CanCon requirements. Disproportionately but not exclusively access to medicines/global health/humanitarian response/public health/infectious disease.

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Adam R Houston@healthlawadamh.bsky.social · 14h ago

Along similar lines, here's Canada pushing pharmaceutical/biotechnology capacity in "The Plan for a Stronger Canada National Security for Canadians". www.canada.ca/content/dam/... Canada is certainly very good at saying this stuff on paper, but...

Screenshot of the graphic of page 7 of the Plan, with "pharmaceuticals and biotech" circled. https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/pco-bcp/images/pco2/pm/nss/The_Plan_for_a_Stronger_Canada_2026.pdf
Adam R Houston@healthlawadamh.bsky.social · yesterday

Thinking about the Government of Canada talking about scaling up Canadian innovation, whilst I read this very international (but Canada-free) press release about R&D funding for a #Bundibugyo vaccine 💉 candidate based on a vaccine platform developed in Canada's public National Microbiology Lab.🤔

Screenshot from this press release https://www.iavi.org/press-release/iavi-awarded-36-million-from-barda-for-bundibugyo-virus-vaccine-development/ reading: "October 28, 2026 IAVI awarded $36 million from BARDA for Bundibugyo virus vaccine development Initial award funds process development, manufacturing, and clinical evaluation of a single-dose vaccine candidate through strategic partnerships with Hilleman Laboratories, SK bioscience, and IDT Biologika IAVI Hilleman SK IDT Logos NEW YORK, SINGAPORE, INCHEON, SOUTH KOREA, and DESSAU-ROSSLAU, GERMANY — October 28, 2026 — Today IAVI, a global nonprofit biomedical research organization, together with partners Hilleman Laboratories, SK bioscience, and IDT Biologika announced that IAVI has been awarded US $36 million of a contract valued up to US $99 million from the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR); Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to advance development, manufacturing, and clinical evaluation of its one-dose vaccine candidate against Bundibugyo virus (BDBV), the cause of the ongoing Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)."
Adam R Houston@healthlawadamh.bsky.social · 14h ago

As a minor aside, I think this may be the first time I've seen a clear reference to how many pharmaceuticals are currently stored in Canada's National Emergency Strategic Stockpile (NESS). The answer being 30, apparently.

Pharmaceuticals for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear events are a priority investment for the agency because the National Emergency Strategic Stockpile is the sole provider of some of these specialized, hard‑to‑access items. We found that as of March 31, 2026, the agency had completed needs assessments that established inventory targets for all of the 30 pharmaceuticals in the stockpile.
Adam R Houston@healthlawadamh.bsky.social · 15h ago

Glad to see this finding/recommendation in the Auditor General's report on the National Emergency Strategic Stockpile. There are some very easy win-wins on international humanitarian crises. PHAC is aware of at least some of them; fingers crossed this recommendation helps lead to tangible action.

48. We found that in November 2020, through an order‑in‑council, the agency received the legal authority to transfer, lease, or loan National Emergency Strategic Stockpile supplies to the provinces and territories to support public health emergency management. Following this, the need to strengthen the agency’s legal authority to distribute stockpile supplies outside of public health emergencies was identified by the agency, such as to: • minimize the volume of medical supplies that might otherwise expire • mitigate domestic market shortages in exceptional circumstances • support international humanitarian crises 49. In 2024, the agency developed a stockpile management plan to address long‑standing weaknesses in the management of the stockpile inventory. We found that the need to strengthen the agency’s authority was identified as an action item in the agency’s stockpile management plan. The timeline to complete this action was October 2024. We found that as of March 31, 2026, the agency had still not strengthened its authority to distribute stockpile supplies outside of public health emergencies. Obtaining this authority is important to ensure that public assets in the stockpile are managed in accordance with the Financial Administration Act. Public Health Emergency Stockpile Page 20 of 31 Recommendation 50. The Public Health Agency of Canada should strengthen its authority to distribute medical supplies outside of public health emergencies.
Adam R Houston@healthlawadamh.bsky.social · yesterday

Thinking about the Government of Canada talking about scaling up Canadian innovation, whilst I read this very international (but Canada-free) press release about R&D funding for a #Bundibugyo vaccine 💉 candidate based on a vaccine platform developed in Canada's public National Microbiology Lab.🤔

Screenshot from this press release https://www.iavi.org/press-release/iavi-awarded-36-million-from-barda-for-bundibugyo-virus-vaccine-development/ reading: "October 28, 2026 IAVI awarded $36 million from BARDA for Bundibugyo virus vaccine development Initial award funds process development, manufacturing, and clinical evaluation of a single-dose vaccine candidate through strategic partnerships with Hilleman Laboratories, SK bioscience, and IDT Biologika IAVI Hilleman SK IDT Logos NEW YORK, SINGAPORE, INCHEON, SOUTH KOREA, and DESSAU-ROSSLAU, GERMANY — October 28, 2026 — Today IAVI, a global nonprofit biomedical research organization, together with partners Hilleman Laboratories, SK bioscience, and IDT Biologika announced that IAVI has been awarded US $36 million of a contract valued up to US $99 million from the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR); Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to advance development, manufacturing, and clinical evaluation of its one-dose vaccine candidate against Bundibugyo virus (BDBV), the cause of the ongoing Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)."
Adam R Houston@healthlawadamh.bsky.social · yesterday

Ugh😠, Global Affairs Canada's response (in AEFA meeting on the Senate's 2025🧐Canada-Africa report). No, Canada can't fill the USA ODA gap. But Canada's own aid cuts, explicitly targeting global health (framed as "savings"🤮), incl. >15% cuts to the Global Fund for HIV, TB & Malaria, aren't helping!

Screenshot from unofficial transcript, reading "[36:46] Marty Deacon: Thank you very much. About a year ago I think we had this conversation, but now a year has passed. The cuts made as a result of USAID taken by the Trump administration—there is some more time that has passed. I'm wondering if we have any idea how their withdrawal from Africa has affected our own development and humanitarian missions at this time. [37:20] Cheryl Urban: I'll start and then I'm sure that my colleagues around the table also have insights into this, but certainly there was an impact because that was a large investment on the continent, and predominantly there were investments in the area of health. It's had its impact, but it's also in the context more globally of a decline in ODA right around the world. Also, I would say an evolving approach to international assistance. That includes in discussions with African countries because there have been a number of impacts. Some of it is less ODA and less support going to populations, but also some of it is an evolution towards types of partnerships that are more about sustainable approaches and more about win-win and mutually beneficial. This is also where I think you see trade and development coming together. Countries are wanting to do business and wanting to also have sovereignty over their own programmes and their own ways of doing things. Canadian ODA can't compensate for the massive change in global ODA, but we are, along with many G7 countries and like-minded partners, evolving our approach to international assistance so that it's a little more systematic and sustainable and more in line with modern concepts of equal partnerships."
Adam R Houston@healthlawadamh.bsky.social · 2d ago

👀"A coroner has found the death of Australian actor Richard Norton was "triggered by" his injection of unapproved #peptides, recommending the medicines regulator consider tougher restrictions. Mr Norton's death is believed to be the first confirmed fatality in Australia from unapproved peptide use."

Unregulated peptides contributed to actor's death, coroner finds

A coroner has found the death of Australian actor Richard Norton was triggered by injecting unapproved peptides, recommending the TGA consider tougher restrictions.

abc.net.au

Adam R Houston@healthlawadamh.bsky.social · 3d ago

Interesting article: "Pennsylvania Dutch country, tired of waiting for biopharma, builds drug company of its own - Rural doctor and Mennonite network say ‘common sense’ can unlock rare disease treatments" www.statnews.com/2026/10/27/g...

Pennsylvania Dutch country, tired of waiting for biopharma, builds drug company of its own

A small community tests if it can solve a crisis no one else could, for the simple reason that they have no other choice.

statnews.com

Adam R Houston@healthlawadamh.bsky.social · 3d ago

Will be curious what these advance requests look like in their final form... "Canada moves to allow advance requests for MAID with rigorous safeguards" www.canada.ca/en/departmen...

Canada moves to allow advance requests for MAID with rigorous safeguards

For Canadians facing an incurable illness and living with intolerable suffering, medical assistance in dying (MAID) is a complex and deeply personal choice. The decision to request MAID must remain theirs, be voluntary, free from external pressure, and remain protected by rigorous safeguards.

canada.ca

Adam R Houston@healthlawadamh.bsky.social · 4d ago

🤔"A convicted murderer who argued in an Australian court that disallowing him access to the yeast-based spread Vegemite was a violation of his human rights has lost a legal battle seeking permission to consume the delicacy from prison." globalnews.ca/news/1212135...

Australian judge denies murderer’s bid to lift prison ban on Vegemite - National | Globalnews.ca

Andre McKechnie who is serving a life sentence for murder in the southern Australian state of Victoria, took his battle for the spread to the Supreme Court last year.

globalnews.ca

Adam R Houston@healthlawadamh.bsky.social · 6d ago

"Big pharma accused of ‘free-riding on nature’ as global fund attracts just $7,000" 🧐https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/oct/22/cop17-cali-conservation-fund-pharmaceutical-freeriding-nature-aoe

The Cali Fund set out to raise $1bn (£750m) annually, by asking companies that profit from nature’s genetics to contribute towards conservation in low-income countries. But more than 18 months after the fund was launched, it remains far below this target. As of Monday, at the start of the Cop17 biodiversity summit in Armenia, the fund had received just $10,656 in commitments, of which $7,085 had been deposited. No money has so far been given by major pharmaceutical companies, despite the industry’s reliance on genetic information from organisms around the globe for the development of lucrative new medicines.