By A.J. Evenson and Tim Martin
Lansing State Journal
October 21, 2000
Lansing's BioPort Corp. - the struggling maker of the military's anthrax vaccine - is getting help from a high-profile defense contractor.
A new alliance with Battelle, an Ohio-based technology troubleshooter with worldwide operations, could help BioPort win government approval to make the vaccine at its renovated north Lansing labs. BioPort will pay Battelle to fill 14 jobs and provide key testing to ensure the vaccine's potency.
BioPort has faced growing congressional criticism over its inability to get Food and Drug Administration approval, a process that began in August 1999. Since then, the anthrax vaccination program has come under scrutiny for health and financial concerns.
Low supplies of the drug have forced the Pentagon to scale back its controversial plan to vaccinate all 2.4 million U.S. troops against anthrax, a deadly biological weapon possessed by Iraq and up to nine other nations.
"Obviously they are a help to us achieving approval for our facility," BioPort spokeswoman Kim Brennen Root said of Battelle. "They're important to us just as are our other 200 employees."
BioPort will keep full ownership and control of its 200-employee business. Company officials said none of those workers will lose their jobs or be reassigned.
The financial terms of the contract were not disclosed Friday.
Bringing in the Ohio company - which deals with a range of government projects from managing Oak Ridge National Laboratory to diposing of napalm - signals a further shakeup of the Lansing company's management team.
At least four of seven former state of Michigan workers who managed BioPort two years ago have left the company. Some of them were or still are part-owners.
Earlier this month, BioPort chief financial officer Bob Kramer was named president and chief operating officer. He was not part of the management team that bought the former Michigan Biologic Products Institute from the state in 1998.
Battelle, established in 1925, has worked with the U.S. Navy for 35 years. The $1 billion corporation also developed technology that helped lead to the Xerox copier, compact disc and grocery packaging bar codes. The company is a nonprofit under Ohio law but pays federal, state and local taxes.
Battelle - which has several projects linked to the armed services, the Department of Energy and the Centers for Disease Control - began advertising to fill Lansing jobs last week. The 14 jobs are high- to mid-level positions that deal primarily with manufacturing, quality control and regulatory affairs.
Battelle will recruit and hire the workers, but BioPort - using money from Department of Defense contracts - will reimburse wage and benefit costs.
Battelle officials said they can help BioPort fill jobs that the Lansing company has had difficulty filling.
Root denied BioPort has had trouble recruiting people on its own to fill the 14 jobs and others, saying Battelle will merely speed up the process.
"We wanted to expand our reach," Root said. "Battelle lets us do that."
Battelle expects it can also help BioPort get FDA approval - crucial to the Lansing firm's survival. The company is now operating on monthly reimbursements from the Pentagon, which cover only costs related to the anthrax vaccine. Other BioPort products have been put on hold, and BioPort said earlier this year it expected an $18 million cash shortfall for 2000.
"We'll provide additional technical expertise to BioPort," said Dave Robinson, a Battelle vice president for biodefense sciences. "We hope that what we'll be doing will be of advantage to them."
The partnership isn't a first for the local lab and Battelle - and may not be the last.
In 1997, Battelle joined the Lansing lab - while under state ownership - on an unsuccessful $575 million bid to develop several vaccines for the Pentagon.
The extent of the relationship could go beyond the current recruiting and testing contracts. Battelle said Friday it is one of the five companies that have expressed an interest in becoming a second source for the military's anthrax vaccine. BioPort is now the sole provider.
Battelle said it will pursue becoming a second source independent of its contracts with BioPort.
Contact A.J. Evenson at 377-1015 or aevenson@lsj.com or Tim Martin at 377-1061 or tmartin@lsj.com.
MajorBates.com editor note: the Lansing State Journal's collection of Bioport stories can be found at: