Bioport, the sole U.S. anthrax vaccine producer, is closer to obtaining full U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to restart production, the Chicago Tribune reported today (see GSN, Dec. 20, 2001).  Meanwhile, investigators are trying to jump start the “Amerithrax” investigation, according to reports.

Bioport is only awaiting FDA approval of its partner Hollister-Stier Laboratories, which places the anthrax vaccine into vials, according to the Tribune.  Hollister-Stier has to respond to a small number of “minor issues” found by FDA inspectors last week, said a company spokeswoman.

“We believe they can quickly resolve them,” said an FDA spokeswoman.  “It’s a high priority.”

Once full FDA approval is obtained, Bioport will produce the anthrax vaccine only for the U.S. Defense Department, the Tribune reported.  Some of the vaccines doses produced for testing purposes will be “immediately available for release,” said Bioport spokeswoman Kim Brennen Root (Sue Ellen Christian, Chicago Tribune, Jan. 15).

Canada Reviews Forced Vaccinations for Soldiers

A retired Canadian air force sergeant could face a new trial on charges resulting from his refusal of the anthrax vaccine during the Gulf War, the Globe and Mail reported today.

The Court Martial Court of Appeal ruled that Mike Kipling should not have been acquitted for refusing to be inoculated.  Members of the Canadian armed forces generally must be inoculated if their commanders order it, according to the National Defense Act.

The verdict is seen as a victory for the Canadian military because it effectively stops other soldiers from refusing inoculation, according to the Globe and Mail. 

“If the military is intent on prosecuting Mike Kipling, we will seek leave to go to the Supreme Court,” said Kipling’s lawyer.  “If a soldier legitimately believes that a vaccine will be harmful, he should not have to wait for a trial to determine whether he made the right decision” (Krista Foss, Globe and Mail, Jan. 15).

Investigation Developments

Officials are likely to double the current $1.4 million reward in the anthrax investigation, authorities said yesterday.  The case has slowed since the attacks began last October and public tips have almost completely stopped, officials said (Kevin Johnson, USA Today, Jan. 15).

Federal investigators last week examined photocopiers at Rutgers University in New Jersey for any possible connection to the mailer of the tainted letters, a Rutgers scientist said (see GSN, Dec. 10, 2001). The anthrax-tainted mailings contained photocopied handwritten notes along with the spores.  Photocopiers can leave behind small clues on the paper that can help narrow down where the letters were copied, according to scientists. 

“The authorities clearly still are investigating possible university links,” said Richard Ebright, a Rutgers biologist.  “It’s hard to imagine that they would be expending so much effort at universities if they had settled on a suspect in the military lab or military contractor.”

The four tainted letters were postmarked from New Jersey.  Rutgers spokesman Joseph Blumberg said the university has no supplies of anthrax (William Broad, New York Times, Jan. 15).

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