KOLKHORST & PERRY VISIT BIOCORRIDOR CENTER

  

District-13 State Representative Lois Kolkhorst of accompanied Texas Governor Rick Perry on a visit to the Texas A&M National Center For Therapeutics Manufacturing in the biocorridor.

The center is one of the pioneering

vaccine and therapeutic manufacturing facilities that comprise the Texas A&M Center for Innovation in Advanced Development and Manufacturing

The tour took place one day after Perry’s announcement of the creation of two new designated treatment centers for those with Ebola -- one in the UT Southwestern Medical Center in Richardson and one at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.

Kolkhorst, Perry and others got some perspective on the efforts at the center. which is a public-private partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services, the state and the biopharmaceutical industry.

The center may be asked by the federal government to mass produce ZMapp, a potential treatment for Ebola patients. A&M has submitted a proposal.

Brett Giroir, CEO of the Texas A&M Health Science Center, says it's not just Ebola the center is concerned with, but also diseases such as influenza, SARS and MIRS.

There have been no new cases of Ebola since two Dallas nurses were diagnosed on Oct. 10 and 12, and many people who were under quarantine are being declared symptom-free.