Strengthening the biological weapons convention and implications on the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry

The development, production, stockpiling, and use of biological weapons are banned by the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC). Reflecting the realities of the Cold War era in which it was negotiated, the BWC lacks means for compliance verification or enforcement. International efforts to remedy this deficiency are accelerating in the face of evidence that covert biological weapon programs are proliferating at the national and subnational levels.