The White House yesterday released a new presidential directive assigning roles and responsibilities across the U.S. government to manage the development of medical countermeasures for attacks involving chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) weapons on domestic soil. Homeland Security Presidential Directive No. 18, dated Jan. 31, puts the Health and Human Services Department in charge of leading such efforts, and HHS has 60 days to establish an interagency advisory panel that will oversee the establishment of requirements and define "procurement...
