Obama Administration Pushes $433 Million Smallpox Drug Deal
The global eradication of the smallpox virus was certified by the World Health Organization in 1979, and all known remaining stockpiles of the virus are contained within locked freezers at the CDC in Atlanta, Georgia and at a Russian scientific institute in Koltsovo, just north of Kazakhstan.
So why, then, has the Obama administration been aggressively pushing a $433 million plan to buy an experimental smallpox drug? The Los Angeles Times reports at length on the story. Here's an excerpt:
Senior officials have taken unusual steps to secure the contract for New York-based Siga Technologies Inc., whose controlling shareholder is billionaire Ronald O. Perelman, one of the world's richest men and a longtime Democratic Party donor.
....Siga was awarded the final contract in May through a "sole-source" procurement in which it was the only company asked to submit a proposal. The contract calls for Siga to deliver 1.7 million doses of the drug for the nation's biodefense stockpile. The price of approximately $255 per dose is well above what the government's specialists had earlier said was reasonable, according to internal documents and interviews.
Considering the involvement of a big time Democratic donor in the story, in all likelihood we're dealing with another Obama cronyism morass in the mold of the Solyndra and LightSquared scandals. The half a billion taxpayer dollars funneled to a donor as payoff has become a hallmark of the Obama administration–and strangely, this offers the most comforting explanation for today's disconcerting news.
The alternative–that the government is legitimately concerned about there being a need for a smallpox drug in the foreseeable future (the drug is believed to have a shelf-life of only 38 months!)–is much scarier.
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Aug '10
Re: Obama Administration Pushes $433 Million Smallpox Drug Deal
Maybe they think Obamacare will inexorably lead to 19th century epidemics?
Re: Obama Administration Pushes $433 Million Smallpox Drug Deal
The term, "biodefense stockpile" got my attention since it has military connotations. I suspect, right along with you Diane, that this is a cozy arrangement with a wealthy donor. But smallpox can be weaponized, Secretary of State Clinton's Reset Button notwithstanding.
Feb '11
Re: Obama Administration Pushes $433 Million Smallpox Drug Deal
From that LA Times story:
"When Siga complained that contracting specialists at the Department of Health and Human Services were resisting the company's financial demands, senior officials replaced the government's lead negotiator for the deal, interviews and documents show.
When Siga was in danger of losing its grip on the contract a year ago, the officials blocked other firms from competing."
This is corruption, pure and simple.
Apr '11
Re: Obama Administration Pushes $433 Million Smallpox Drug Deal
How much would it cost to just vaccinate everyone against small pox now if we thought there was any decent likely hood of an attack? But, remember we can't be too careful, just think of the children, the children!!
Re: Obama Administration Pushes $433 Million Smallpox Drug Deal
Speaking medically, the eradication of smallpox means that we can and have stopped routine vaccinations. Even a statistically miniscule rate of vaccine complication is unjustifiable against a background of absolutely no risk of contracting disease.
But this means we are moving toward a world without any natural immunity to a lethal illness still stored in Russian freezers.
So having a military strategy for managing a smallpox outbreak makes sense even if the sweetheart deal for a donor does not.
Edited on Nov 14, 2011 at 1:48pmMar '11
Re: Obama Administration Pushes $433 Million Smallpox Drug Deal
While the choice of Siga as producer might have been politically motivated, the desire to manufacture vaccines against potential bio-terrorist threats is certainly bi-partisan: the strongest voice calling for smallpox vaccination for every American after 9/11 was Dick Cheney. Around this time, Congress also passed Project Bioshield, which set aside about $5 billion to purchase vaccines against smallpox, anthrax, and other potential infectious agents used by terrorists.
Diane Ellis, Ed.: ... all known remaining stockpiles of the virus are contained within locked freezers at the CDC in Atlanta, Georgia and at a Russian scientific institute in Koltsovo, just north of Kazakhstan.
The alternative–that the government is legitimately concerned about there being a need for a smallpox drug in the foreseeable future (the drug is believed to have a shelf-life of only 38 months!)–is much scarier. ·
Remember that the anthrax used for the 2001 attacks was traced back to a U.S. government lab. Knowing that there is smallpox still stored in the backwaters of Russia also doesn't put my mind at ease.
Edited on Nov 14, 2011 at 1:54pmRe: Obama Administration Pushes $433 Million Smallpox Drug Deal
The Los Angeles Times seems to be doing a better job of covering this administration than the home town paper, no?
Re: Obama Administration Pushes $433 Million Smallpox Drug Deal
I'd point out, though, that we're talking about the production of a drug to treat smallpox, not a vaccine to prevent it. The efficacy of the drug can't really be known since there are no human subjects to test it on. And the drug has a shelf life of just over 3 years. Seems wasteful, no?
Mar '11
Re: Obama Administration Pushes $433 Million Smallpox Drug Deal
Diane Ellis, Ed.
I'd point out, though, that we're talking about the production of a drug to treat smallpox, not a vaccine to prevent it. The efficacy of the drug can't really be known since there are no human subjects to test it on. And the drug has a shelf life of just over 3 years. Seems wasteful, no? · Nov 14 at 2:02pm
Sorry, I was familiar with Siga as a vaccine company and missed the whole drug part.
Let me clarify that I don't have a big problem with government funding of smallpox research (since it's probably too risky for the private market), and unfortunately the inability to test the drug in humans will always hold true. However, you're right that such an incredibly expensive purchase of a drug with such a short half life seems ridiculous.