To: SSP who wrote (93076 ) 10/7/2001 12:20:59 PM From: Jim Bishop Respond to of 150070 ACAM Steve, one for the LIST, impact date mid 2002.dailynews.yahoo.com Thursday October 4 1:29 PM ET UK Firm Speeds Up Work on U.S. Smallpox Vaccine LONDON (Reuters) - British biotechnology firm Acambis Plc said on Thursday it had accelerated work to develop a smallpox vaccine for the United States, amid heightened fears of germ warfare after the attacks on New York and Washington.A US official said this week that the first 40 million doses of the jab to protect against the deadly disease could arrive next year--two years ahead of schedule. Acambis has an exclusive contract with the US government to supply the vaccine. The attacks by hijacked planes on the World Trade Center and Pentagon (news - web sites) on September 11 have focused attention on US vulnerability to other kinds of assault, including biological and chemical warfare, and added urgency to Acambis' work to produce a vaccine that meets modern safety standards.On Wednesday, Secretary of Health and Human Services (news - web sites) Tommy Thompson forecast the vaccine would be ready by mid to late 2002. ``Acambis can confirm that this program has been accelerated but it is unable to give more details at this stage,'' Acambis said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange. Although smallpox--a contagious and deadly blistering of the skin accompanied by pain and fever--was officially eradicated over 20 years ago, there are fears that virus samples produced in the Soviet Union during the Cold War could fall into the hands of militant groups or rogue states. When the Aum Shinrikyo cult in Japan released sarin nerve gas on the Tokyo subway in 1995, it forced governments to accept that extreme groups could use such weapons. Under a 20-year contract with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (news - web sites), Acambis is to supply an initial 40 million doses of a vaccine that meets modern safety standards. Clinical trials are due to start next year. The US government is expected to seek more doses of the vaccine to protect its people against attack. Industry sources say other countries are also interested in buying in the vaccine. The original smallpox vaccine, which has its origins in the 18th century, was simply a dose of the cattle disease cowpox that seemed to give smallpox immunity to dairymaids. Cultivated in calves, it falls short of modern safety requirements. Scientists say smallpox and anthrax pose the biggest germ warfare threats, but only smallpox has the potential to spread into a worldwide plague.