Wisconsin Editorial: Anthrax vaccine efforts only lead to misspent money

[Guest guest]

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Editorial: Anthrax vaccine efforts only lead to misspent money

Remember the anthrax attacks of 2001? Most probably do. Everyone was

afraid to open their mail for months because it might contain the

lethal white powder that killed five people.

Remember Project BioShield, the $5.6 billion program the U.S. created

in 2003 in response to the incidents? Most probably don't. It was

supposed to create a massive emergency stockpile of vaccines and

antibiotics to combat biological and chemical attacks.

Well, three years later, it's not doing so hot. And the crown jewel

of the ineptitude? Ironically, the ongoing debacle of producing a new

anthrax vaccine.

The U.S. first put out a bid in early 2004 to upgrade the 1950s-era

vaccine it had to a more reliable medication with fewer nasty side

effects. Unfortunately, no major drug companies made a pitch for it

because it wasn't a big moneymaker. That left the government with a

bunch of biotech startups vying for the contract.

It chose VaxGen, a California firm whose greatest claim to fame at

that point was failing to develop a highly touted AIDS vaccine and

which had been banned from Nasdaq for funny bookkeeping. It gave the

company $877 million for 75 million doses.

No, we're not making this up.

The decision caused some splits in Congress over the direction of the

program and raised the ire of the creator of the outdated vaccine,

which was being used as a foundation for the new one.

The first major news on the project came last year, when VaxGen

revealed that an ingredient it had added to the vaccine caused it to

decompose quickly, making it unsuitable for stockpiling and pushing

the release date to next year. Since then, more testing requirements

have made a 2008 debut more likely.

Meanwhile, Congress authorized the purchase of 10 million doses of

the old vaccine for $243 million. Not exactly a vote of confidence

for VaxGen.

What does this all mean? Maybe it means that science and medicine are

fickle, and beholden to no man's timeline. Maybe it means that it's

better to get the job done right, even if it means taking more time.

But it definitely means that, more than $1 billion and five years

later, we're no safer from anthrax attacks than we were before.

Pathetic.

======================

Gretchen

List owner

[Guest guest]

What do you mean " list owner of ?

I'm interested in collecting money for legal help to fight forced

vaccinations.

Do you have something to do with that?

Bob Catalano

e-mail: Bob @singlesdances-newengland.com

lionhearted_ <anna_nim@...> wrote:

http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?

AID=/20061004/APC0602/610040661/1036

Editorial: Anthrax vaccine efforts only lead to misspent money

[Guest guest]

Bob Catalano wrote:

>>

What do you mean " list owner of ?

>>

That means I own the mailing list called " "

>>>

I'm interested in collecting money for legal help to fight forced

vaccinations.

Do you have something to do with that?

>>>

No

If someone has a fund going perhaps they could post that fact.

Bob Catalano

e-mail: Bob @singlesdances-newengland.com

lionhearted_ <anna_nim@...> wrote:

http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?

AID=/20061004/APC0602/610040661/1036

Editorial: Anthrax vaccine efforts only lead to misspent money