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"Protecting the health and informed consent rights of children since 1982."

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BL Fisher Note:

   In what amounts to a catfight between drug companies competing for the
same government contract, Michigan's Bioport and the politicians that back
the company have secured more cash from taxpayers to prepare for a
theoretical bioterrorism attack on U.S. civilians. Yet, there is not one
scintilla of solid evidence that has been provided to the public since Sept.
11, 2001 by the U.S. government that any terrorist group in the world has
the scientific expertise and capability to weaponize anthrax, smallpox or
any other microorganism and successfully deliver it in lethal form to large
numbers of civilians on the mainland.

  This lack of evidence, however, does not deter the fear mongers and
profiteers, who continue to frighten the people into believing a
bioterrorism attack is imminent. And so large sums of taxpayer money is
handed over to drug companies to produce bioterrorism vaccines which can be
forced upon the people in order to recoup production expenses and generate
more profit for vaccine makers.


http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060507/LIFESTYLE03/60507
Detroit News
Sunday, May 07, 2006


Government expands anthrax vaccine contract with Michigan company

Ken Thomas / Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- BioPort Corp. will receive $120 million to produce 5 million
more doses of anthrax vaccine to bolster the government's stockpile of
antidotes against bioweapons, the Department of Health and Human Services
said Friday.

BioPort, of Lansing, Mich., completed its delivery of 5 million doses of
anthrax vaccine to the federal stockpile in February under a $122.7 million
contract announced in May 2005. HHS officials said it would modify the
existing contract to purchase the additional doses of Anthrax Vaccine
Adsorbed.

"We are committed to protecting the nation from the consequences of an
anthrax attack," said Stewart Simonson, HHS's assistant secretary for public
health emergency preparedness.

BioPort, a subsidiary of Gaithersburg, Md.-based Emergent Biosolutions Inc.,
is the nation's only licensed manufacturer of the anthrax vaccine.

The funding was awarded under Project BioShield, which was signed into law
by President Bush in July 2004 with the promise of spending $5.6 billion to
develop remedies against possible bioweapons.

Fuad El-Hibri, Emergent Biosolutions' chairman and CEO, said the company was
"proud to play a vital role in the strategic defense of the United States
and the protection of its citizens in the event of another anthrax attack."

The contract would run through September 2007 and delivery of the doses
would begin almost immediately, said BioPort spokeswoman Kim Brennen Root.

Brisbane, Calif.-based VaxGen Inc. received the first contract worth $877.5
million to develop the company's experimental anthrax vaccine, but delivery
has been delayed.

Lance Ignon, VaxGen's vice president corporate affairs, said the company
expects it could begin delivery "at the end of this year if all goes well
with our development program and if HHS is willing to accept vaccines based
on the data that's currently called for in the contract."

VaxGen was warned in a March 24 letter from the Food and Drug Administration
about sales material handed out at a government biodefense research meeting
that contained "false and misleading statements" about the experimental
vaccine and how it compared to one produced by BioPort.

Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., who represents the Lansing-area district where
BioPort is located, said last month he would seek an investigation into the
process that led to VaxGen receiving the contract.

Rogers said the work by BioPort "is crucial to America's bioterror defense.
This contract ensures our national security efforts as well as economic
security of more than 300 mid-Michigan employees and their families."

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HHS BUYS ADDITIONAL AVA ANTHRAX VACCINE

Date:  May 5, 2006
For Release:  Immediately
Contact: HHS Press Office
(202) 690-6343
bolor
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced today the
$120 million purchase of 5 million additional doses of Anthrax Vaccine
Adsorbed (AVA), a licensed anthrax vaccine, from the BioPort Corporation
of Lansing, Mich.  Today's action modifies an existing HHS contract with
BioPort that was awarded in May 2005.

This supply of AVA anthrax vaccine is in addition to the 5 million doses
of AVA anthrax vaccine purchased last year from BioPort. It will be
placed in the nation's Strategic National Stockpile where it will be
available for use in the event of a bioterror anthrax incident.
Together with an already substantial supply of antibiotics, which is the
nation's first line of defense against an anthrax attack, the additional
AVA vaccine will further diversify the stockpile's medical
countermeasures.

"We are committed to protecting the nation from the consequences of an
anthrax attack," HHS Assistant Secretary for Public Health Emergency
Preparedness Stewart Simonson said.  "The additional BioPort vaccine
will further strengthen and expand the Strategic National Stockpile's
medical countermeasures for anthrax."

Today's purchase agreement is funded under Project BioShield, a program
intended to accelerate the development, purchase and availability of
medical countermeasures for biological, chemical, radiological and
nuclear threats. President Bush introduced Project BioShield in his 2003
State of the Union address. Congress passed the Project BioShield Act of
2004 and the President signed it into law on July 21, 2004.

HHS' Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness, which oversees the
research and procurement efforts under the Project BioShield program
through its Office of Research and Development Coordination, will
continue to manage the AVA anthrax vaccine contract.




Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are
available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.


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