Report of a Subcommittee of the ABC Committee

Report of a Subcommittee of the ABC Committee

A subcommittee of the ABC Committee (of the National Academy of Sciences) was formed in response to the request of G.W. Merck, director of the War Research Service (WRS). The goal was to review experimental results of biological weapons and defense research conducted by the WRS, which had been summarized by its research director E.B. Fred, in preparation for the dissolution of WRS. This would inform utilization of the academic enterprise in such studies moving forward.

1944

Provided an overview of 11 different agents as well as the results of ongoing studies pertaining to technological advances in weapons development. From this analysis, the subcommittee recommended establishment of an advisory body to the government made up of academic scientists, development of PPE and vaccines for a number of agents, and provided guidelines for transfer of projects from academic to government laboratories.