WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon's plan to vaccinate every member of the nation's armed services against the deadly biological agent anthrax -- a program already buffeted by questions about safety and effectiveness -- just became a lot more expensive.
Faced with the possibility of running out of vaccine, the Pentagon announced Thursday that it had agreed to more than double what it pays the nation's only licensed manufacturer of the vaccine, the Bioport Corp. of Lansing, Mich., to produce millions of doses over the next six years.The company -- a new corporation whose directors include William J. Crowe Jr., the retired admiral who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and ambassador to Britain -- bought the laboratory from the State of Michigan last year for $25 million.
But despite the Pentagon's commitment to vaccinate all 2.4 million active-duty troops and reservists, the company had financial trouble and in June warned that it could fail if the Pentagon did not pay more.
After weeks of frantic negotiations, the Pentagon agreed to pay $10.64 a dose for the vaccine, up from the $4.36 a dose under the terms Bioport agreed to when it bought the laboratory last year. The total cost of the contract, which requires the company to produce fewer doses, will rise to $49.8 million over the next five years, from $25.7 million now.
The Pentagon also agreed to advance Bioport $18.7 million to help it cover debts.
Senior officials, who appeared at the Pentagon to announce the agreement but then insisted that they not be identified, justified the sharp increase in the contract, saying it was vital to national security that Bioport, as the only producer of the vaccine, remain solvent.
"This action was taken to preserve the financial viability of Bioport in order to ensure uninterrupted production of the anthrax vaccine," the Pentagon said in a statement.
Anthrax is a naturally occurring bacterium that infects cattle and sheep. When produced as dry spores, it can be incorporated into one of the deadliest biological agents, capable of causing death within days of being inhaled.