Reasonable Rascal
05-20-02, 13:01
The Star-Ledger
May 19, 2002
Kevin Coughlin
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1021799419202956.xml
“Protection against smallpox, anthrax and other bioweapons soon may be as simple as taking a puff on an inhaler, according to a germ warrior-turned-entrepreneur. With a breath of spray before or after a suspected bioterror attack, ‘you just won't get the infection,’ said Ken Alibek, former second-in-command of the massive Soviet biowarfare program. Alibek is seeking $15 million to $20 million in funding to refine his new therapy, which temporarily boosts the body's general immune system. Inhalers like those used by asthma sufferers could be ready for homeland security in 18 months, if he can get fast-track federal approvals, Alibek said. He said that in lab tests, mice exposed to a smallpox-like virus have gotten ‘100 percent protection.’ ‘In theory, it could work against any pathogen,’ said Alibek, who will detail the test results Tuesday on Capitol Hill.”
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Admin's Note: Far reaching as it may sound, the Soviets actually produced a means to vaccinate against certain bio-agents using an aerosol chamber rather than injections.
A U.S. company, Maxygen, of Redwood City, California, has been working on unusually strong gene vaccines intended to stimulate the body to a very heightened level of immunity agains viral and bacterial infections. Towards this end there were granted $7.7 million in 1999 by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency).
Source: GERMS; Miller, Engelberg, Broad, 2001 ISBN 0-684-87158-0
May 19, 2002
Kevin Coughlin
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1021799419202956.xml
“Protection against smallpox, anthrax and other bioweapons soon may be as simple as taking a puff on an inhaler, according to a germ warrior-turned-entrepreneur. With a breath of spray before or after a suspected bioterror attack, ‘you just won't get the infection,’ said Ken Alibek, former second-in-command of the massive Soviet biowarfare program. Alibek is seeking $15 million to $20 million in funding to refine his new therapy, which temporarily boosts the body's general immune system. Inhalers like those used by asthma sufferers could be ready for homeland security in 18 months, if he can get fast-track federal approvals, Alibek said. He said that in lab tests, mice exposed to a smallpox-like virus have gotten ‘100 percent protection.’ ‘In theory, it could work against any pathogen,’ said Alibek, who will detail the test results Tuesday on Capitol Hill.”
--------------------------------------------------
Admin's Note: Far reaching as it may sound, the Soviets actually produced a means to vaccinate against certain bio-agents using an aerosol chamber rather than injections.
A U.S. company, Maxygen, of Redwood City, California, has been working on unusually strong gene vaccines intended to stimulate the body to a very heightened level of immunity agains viral and bacterial infections. Towards this end there were granted $7.7 million in 1999 by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency).
Source: GERMS; Miller, Engelberg, Broad, 2001 ISBN 0-684-87158-0