Under the Project BioShield Act of 2004, the US government has agreed to purchase 20,000 doses of ABthrax™, an experimental drug developed by Human Genome Sciences against inhalational anthrax disease.

"HGS has demonstrated the efficacy of ABthrax in multiple pre-clinical studies in relevant animal models, and its safety and tolerability in a Phase 1 clinical trial in healthy adults. With our proven ability to scale up production in our manufacturing facilities, we expect to deliver ABthrax to the Strategic National Stockpile in 2008. Today's announcement is an important milestone in Human Genome Sciences' progress toward commercialization, since fulfilling the terms of this award will result in our company's first product sales."

Because of anthrax's potential use as a bioweapon, various efforts are also underway to develop anthrax vaccines through molecular farming, as well as anthrax antibiotics. In contrast to vaccines and antibiotics however, its developers claim ABthrax, a human monoclonal antibody to Bacillus anthracis, is a superior option because it affords immediate protection without the risks of the emergence of resistant strains. Read more from HGSI's press release and from the Washington Business Journal. A webcast discussing the US government's purchase of ABthrax is also available here for the next few days.