Anthrax test maker takes stage amid skepticism
October 23, 2001 6:13pm
Source: Reuters
By Jonathan Landreth
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Standing next to a portrait of madcap comedians Chevy Chase and Dan Acroyd, Donald Podrebarac on Tuesday struggled to reassure reporters gathered to learn about his company's PurTest home testing kit for anthrax.
The chief executive of Vital Living Products, a maker of water testing kits, chose the Friar's Club comedy venue to show off the product, which he said will give Americans a sense of relief from the alarm created by recent germ warfare attacks.
Podrebarac sought to counter scientists who doubt the test's efficacy and say it might create a false sense of security or even endanger those who rely on it to detect anthrax, which has killed three people in the United States.
He said on several occasions that the kit was not intended to replace laboratory tests for anthrax.
As reporters asked about the veracity of results from the kit Vital Living expects to go on sale at between $19 and $25 by Thanksgiving, Podrebarac fumbled under the podium in search of a sample test to show what a positive result looks like.
``Where is it?'' he asked, followed by the sound of a cellophane bag rumpling. Then Podrebarac held up a plastic bottle of bright yellow liquid.
``Don't spill it!'' someone said in jest, as Podrebarac assured the crowd that the liquid inside is not anthrax, but just water.
Shares of Mathews, North Carolina-based Vital Living closed down 26.5 cents, or 15 percent, to $1.495 in over-the-counter trade.
Testing for anthrax in the air, water and on surfaces requires mixing a red solution with water and letting it stand for 24 to 48 hours between room temperature and 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The warmer the room, the sooner the results.
``Our product is not intended to add to the fear factor,'' Podrebarac said.
If the liquid turns yellow, indicating a positive result, instructions tell consumers not to panic, he said.
``We just want to give Americans the tools that our government is saying we should have and to show the terrorist that the American business community will fight back,'' he said.
SCIENTIFIC CONCERNS
Podrebarac refused to reveal the test's methodology because he said the company had received ``suspicious'' phone calls. Vital Living said PurTest Anthrax Test currently returns false positive results about 5 percent of the time.
``We're working on reducing the false positive and false negative results,'' he said.
Scientists are skeptical about the efficacy of the test.
``I wouldn't trust it at all,'' said Dr. Lawrence Kobilinsky, a forensic scientist at John Jay College of Ciminal Justice in New York City.
What troubles Kobilinsky the most is Vital Living's claim the kit will test for both germs and spores, organisms whose surface proteins are often markedly different. Moreover, leaving the test in your living room for up to 48 hours as the company recommends can be dangerous, Kobilinsky said.
``If there are spores they will open and germinate and will grow very fast. Those are not things to play with. The public should not go out and spend their money on this until it has been approved by the appropriate federal authorities,'' he said.
ACE Hardware Corp. stores and the Meijers Inc. supermarket chain in Michigan plan to sell the kit, the company said. Podrebarac hopes it doesn't sell, though he said he expects it will be its best-selling product.
``I hope there is no occasion for it at all,'' he said. ``If you look at our little company a few short weeks ago things were looking very different, but now we're standing on the edge of a new horizon.''
In August, Vital Living reported second-quarter losses of $445,897, three times greater than its year-earlier losses. Revenues rose 27 percent to $644,350.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Vital Living said it expected to require additional financing to fund operations through the year. |
