Ken Alibek

Ken Alibek in 2003.

Colonel Kanatzhan (Kanat) Alibekov (Russian: Канатжан Алибеков; Template:Lang-kz; born 1950) — known as Ken (Kenneth) Alibek since 1992 — is a former Soviet physician, microbiologist and biological warfare (BW) expert. He rose rapidly in the ranks of the Soviet Army to become the First Deputy Director of Biopreparat where he oversaw a vast program of BW facilities. In 1992 he defecated the United States; he has since become an American citizen and makes his living as a biodefense consultant, speaker, and entrepreneur. He has actively participated in the development of biodefense strategy for the U.S. government, and between 1998 and 2005 he testified several times before the U.S. Congress and other governments on biotechnology issues. He is currently Chief Executive Officer of AFG Biosolutions Inc. (USA) and President and Chief Scientific Officer of MaxWell Biocorporation, LLC (USA/Ukraine).

Biography

Youth and early career

Kenneth Alibek was born Kanat Alibekov in Kauchuk, in the Kazakh SSR of the Soviet Union (in present day Kazakhstan) to a Kazakh family and grew up in Almaty, the republic's former capital.

His exceptional academic performance while studying military medicine at the Tomsk Medical Institute and his family’s noted patriotism led to his selection to work for Biopreparat, the secret biological weapons program overseen by the Soviet Union’s Council of Ministers. His first assignment (1975) was to the Eastern European Branch of the Institute of Applied Biochemistry (IAB) near Omutninsk, a combined pesticide production facility and reserve biological weapons production plant intended for activation in a time of war. At Omutninsk, Alibekov mastered the art and science of formulating and evaluating nutrient media and cultivation conditions for the optimization of microbial growth. It was here that he expanded his medical school laboratory skills into the complex skill set required for industrial level production of microorganisms and their toxins.

After less than a year at Omutninsk, Alibekov was transferred to the Siberian Branch of the IAB near Berdsk (another name of the branch was the Berdsk scientific and production base). With the assistance of a colleague, he designed and constructed a microbiology research and development laboratory that worked on techniques to optimize production of biological formulations. After several promotions over a short period of time, Alibekov was transferred back to Omutninsk where he quickly rose to the position of Deputy Director. He was soon transferred to the Kazakhstan Scientific and Production Base in Stepnogorsk (another reserve BW facility) to become the new Director of that facility. Officially, he was Deputy Director of the Progress Scientific and Production Association, a manufacturer of fertilizer and pesticide. At Stepnogorsk, Alibekov created the most efficient industrial scale assembly line for biological formulations. In a time of war, the assembly line could be used to produce weaponized anthrax. Continued successes in science and biotechnology led to more promotions which resulted in a transfer to Moscow.

Work at Biopreparat-Moscow

In Moscow, Alibekov began his service as Deputy Chief of the Biosafety Directorate at Biopreparat. He was later promoted (1988) to First Deputy Director of Biopreparat where he not only oversaw the biological weapons facilities but also the significant number of pharmaceutical facilities that produced antibiotics, vaccines, sera, and interferon for the public. Though the time he had available was short, he took this additional responsibility to public health seriously.

In response to a Spring 1990 announcement that the Ministry of Medical and Microbiological Industry was to be reorganized, Alibekov drafted and forwarded through channels a memo to General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev proposing the cessation of Biopreparat’s BW work. Though Gorbachev approved the proposal, an additional paragraph had been secretly inserted into Alibekov’s draft resulting in a presidential decree that not only ordered the end of Biopreparat’s BW work but also required them to remain prepared for future production.

Though disappointed by the double dealing, Alibekov used his position at Biopreparat and the authority granted to him by the first part of the decree to begin destruction of the BW program. Specifically, he ordered the dismantlement of BW production and testing capabilities at a number of research and development facilities including Stepnogorsk, Kol’tsovo, Obolensk and a number of others. He also negotiated a concurrent appointment to a Biopreparat facility called Biomash. Biomash designed and produced technical equipment for microbial cultivation and testing. He planned to increase the amount of product sent to the hospitals and the civilian medical laboratories beyond the 40% allocated at the time.

Life in the United States

Kanatzhan Alibekov was subsequently placed in charge of intensive preparations for inspections of Soviet biological facilities by a joint American and British delegation. While participating in the subsequent Soviet inspection of American facilities, his growing suspicion that the United States did not have an offensive BW program was confirmed before his return to Russia (the Soviet Union dissolved while he was in the US). In January 1992, not long after his return from the US, Kenneth Alibek, protesting against BW work continuation, resigned from both the Soviet Army and from Biopreparat and became jobless. In October 1992 he emigrated with his family to the US, despite being forbidden to do so by the KGB.

Dr. Kenneth Alibek adds: “Long before my emigration, I resigned from the Soviet Army, left my administrative and scientific positions in Moscow, refused to accept a Russian citizenship, informed Russian security officials that I would be leaving for the United States, became jobless for more than 9 months and, after I got my parents’ blessing, I left the former Soviet Union (it was not Russia). I do not think it can be considered defection even though Russian physicians did not want me to go overseas. But it was a different time, I was not a Russian citizen and they could not have done anything officially. Only after that I emigrated with all my family”

Since moving to the US, Alibekov — who simplified his name to Kenneth (Ken) Alibek — has provided the government with a detailed accounting of the former Soviet BW program and has testified before the US Congress on numerous occasions (see also Sverdlovsk anthrax leak). He has provided guidance to the intelligence, policy, national security, and medical communities and has returned to the pure biomedical research that captured his interest as a medical student. He was the impetus behind the creation of an innovative biodefense graduate education program at George Mason University (GMU) that drew students from across the country and has served in the program as both a Distinguished Professor of Medical Microbiology and as the Director of Education. He also developed the plans for GMU’s biosafety level three (BSL-3) research facility and was instrumental in obtaining $40 million dollars of grants from the federal and state governments for construction of the facility.

In 1999, Alibek published an autobiographical account of his work in the Soviet Union and his defection.

Pharmaceutical entrepreneur and researcher

On 11 March 2006, Alibek announced that, owing to substantive differences between himself and GMU over the future of the Graduate Programs in Biodefense, he would not be teaching classes beyond the Spring semester and that he was resigning from GMU effective 27 August 2006. In an agreement with his students, he volunteered his time from Spring 2006 through Spring 2007 to help them earn their doctoral degrees.

Kenneth Alibek is the President, Chief Scientific Officer and Chief Executive Officer at AFG Biosolutions, Inc in Gaithersburg, Maryland where he and his scientific team continue their development of advanced solutions for antimicrobial immunity. Motivated by the lack of affordable anti-cancer therapies available in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, AFG is using Alibek’s biotechnology experience to plan, build, and manage a new pharmaceutical production facility designed specifically to address this problem. Alibek created this new pharmaceutical production company, MaxWell Biocorporation (MWB), in 2006 and serves as its CEO and President. Based in Washington, D.C., with several subsidiaries and affiliates in the United States and Ukraine, MWB’s main goal is said to be the creation of a new, large-scale, high-technology, ultra-modern pharmaceutical 'fill-and-finish' facility in Ukraine. Off-patent generic pharmaceuticals produced at this site are supposed to target severe oncological, cardiological, immunological, and chronic infectious diseases. MWB is said to be the biggest and most modern pharmaceutical production facility in all of the former Soviet Union. It is intended to serve as the flagship of a larger healthcare complex at a campus just outside the Ukrainian capital city of Kiev in the town of Boryspil. Construction of the Boryspil facility began in April 2007 and was completed in March 2008; initial production is scheduled to begin in 2008. The stated intention is that high quality pharmaceuticals will be produced and become an affordable source of therapy for millions of underprivileged who currently have no therapeutic options

The main focus of Dr. Alibek's current research is to develop novel modalities for therapy of late stage oncologic diseases and other chronic degenerative pathologies and disorders. He focuses on a role of chronic viral and bacterial infections in causing age-related diseases and premature aging. Additionally, he develops and implements novel systemic immunotherapy methods for late stage cancer patients

Controversy

In 2007, the LA Times published an article criticizing the scientific credibility of Alibek's recent work and his motivations. The LA Times article against Alibek was the harshest and most contentious criticism published to date, a reportable event in the life of the scientist because of the article's direct impact on the people in his social and professional circles. A few people believed the allegations in the contentious article while many people viewed the article as defamatory, citing the 1) one sided nature of the article, 2) newspaper's history of questionable journalistic practices (see NME article "P Diddy's Lawyer Lashes Out at LA Times") and 3) perception of personal knowledge of the inaccuracy of the events reported in the article. The article caused collateral damage to friends, family, and colleagues who experienced feelings of anger, pain, and injustice. Alibek was indirectly impacted by the article because despite his encouragement to ignore the article, he had to watch as some loyal supporters ended their valuable relationships with people who believed the article's allegations. Some of the allegations which caused collateral damage, along with some rebuttal posted after the article's publication, are below:

• In a September 2003 news release, Alibek and another professor suggested, based on their laboratory research, that smallpox vaccination might increase a person's immunity to HIV. The work was touted by GMU but was rejected after peer-review by the Journal of the American Medical Association and Lancet and is no longer being pursued. According to smallpox expert and former White House science advisor Donald A. Henderson, "This is a theory that… does not hold up at all, and it does not make any sense from a biologic point of view…This idea ... was straight off the wall. I would put no credence in it at all." However, in May 2010, Dr. Alibek and co-authors proved their case by publishing the results of effective suppression of HIV replication in the blood of individuals immunized against smallpox: Weinstein R, Weinstein M, Alibek K et al., "Significantly reduced CCR5-tropic HIV-1 replication in vitro in cells from subjects previously immunized with Vaccinia Virus".

• Alibek and colleagues have sought to develop a product that would protect against an array of deadly viruses and bacteria, rather than just a single organism. In his lab, mice had survived doses of smallpox and anthrax. His "cocktail approach"—mixing more than one drug with other ingredients—was touted at news conferences in 2002 and 2004 by US Representative H. James Saxton (R-N.J.), perhaps Alibek’s major government benefactor, as "a potential new defense against bioterrorism". But this unconventional scientific approach is very difficult to assess accurately and has not withstood scientific peer review. In 2006, Dr. Alibek published this concept in one of major peer-reviewed journals in the US: Alibek K and G Liu (2006), "Biodefense shield and avian influenza", Emerging Infectious Diseases. This principle is widely accepted now for developing novel antiviral preparations.

• According to the LA Times article, Alibek has used his notoriety to promote "Dr. Ken Alibek's Immune System Support Formula," a dietary supplement sold over the Internet. The concoction of vitamins, minerals, and a proprietary bacterial mix — a month's supply of which cost $59.95 plus tax and shipping — will purportedly “bolster the immune system”. Going to the article upon which the claim was based, Alibek's rebuttal which was missing from the LA Times article is available for the reader - Alibek said in 2002 that his work was as a consultant to the company which was developing and selling a product unrelated to his biodefense work.

• Alibek resigned as executive director of GMU’s National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases in September 2006, despite his position as a tenured and distinguished professor. A University spokeswoman confirmed his resignation, but declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding his departure. According to a 2007 Los Angeles Times article, “Alibek said the college administration had grown displeased with his company's role in sharing grant-funded research. The university, he said, requested that he dismantle or leave AFG Biosolutions. He chose to resign from George Mason.”

• Some experts question Alibek's characterizations of the bioterriorism threats. Some have asserted that Alibek has a vested interest in raising fears as he profits from government contracts related to countering bioterrorism. Retired Army major general and physician Philip K. Russell, while impressed by Alibek’s knowledge of the former Soviet Union's production of anthrax, "began to think that Ken was more fanciful than precise in some of his recollections" where the genetically engineered smallpox was concerned. Russell also remarked with regard to “…the issue of putting Ebola genes into smallpox virus. That was viewed, at least in many of our minds, as somewhat fanciful. And probably not true." However some of Alibek's biodefense views have been widely accepted and published in the US, for example his views on Bioshield.

Biographical chronology

• 2009 Founder, International Medical Research Center Maxwell US for therapy of late stage onclologic and other chronic diseases
• 2008 Chairman, Department of Medical Biotechnology and Immunotherapy, the Institute of Ecology and Medicine
• 2007 Professor of the Institute of Ecology and Medicine, Ukraine and Lecturer for the National University of Ukraine
• 2006 CEO and President of MaxWell Biocorporation LLC (US/Ukraine)
• Served on over 35 doctoral committees (PhD) and two Doctor of Sciences committees both in Russia and the United States
• From 2000 to 2006 BBC’s “Historic Figures”
• 2005 Lecturer for “Russian-American Security Program of Harvard University’s John Kennedy Center for Government Studies
• 2005 Senior Fellow, Center for Advanced Defense Studies, Washington DC
• 2004 Outstanding faculty member, George Mason University
• 2003 Consultant to the government of Singapore on BW threat and defense
• 2002 Distinguished and tenured professor of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, George Mason University
• Multiple written appreciations from various branches of the United States government for continued support in the field of national security
• Multiple invitations to speak for national and international symposia and conferences
• 2002 Business Forward Magazine Award: “Deals of the Year” for one of the biggest federal contracts for small businesses
• 2001 President of AFG Biosolutions, Inc. ( formerly “Advanced Biosystems, Inc”)
• 2000 Corporate vice president of Analex Corporation
• 2000 Authored the “Biohazard” book – published in more than 20 countries including US, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Russia, Japan, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Taiwan, etc.
• 1999 Chief Scientist of Analex Corporation (formerly Hadron, Inc)
• 1994 Barkley Medal - awarded by the US government in recognition of distinguished public service and contribution to world peace
• 1990 Colonel of Soviet Armed Forces (May 5)
• 1990 Doctor of Sciences in Biotechnology
• 1988 First deputy director of Main Directorate Biopreparat – chief scientist of BW threat program
• 1987 Director of scientific directorate of Main Directorate Biopreparat
• 1984 Medal “For Battlefield Services” of Soviet Armed Forces
• 1984 PhD in Medical Microbiology
• 1983 Military commander of BW threat research and development base, USSR
• 1975 Doctor of Medicine – Military Medicine.

Publications

Pre-defection

Alibek published more than 80 articles in classified journals on the development of new types of biological weapons and on medical aspects of biodefense prior to his defection to the United States.

Post-defection

Books

• Alibek, Ken and Steven Handelman (1999), Biohazard: The Chilling True Story of the Largest Covert Biological Weapons Program in the World - Told from Inside by the Man Who Ran It, Random House, ISBN 0-385-33496-6.
• "The Anthrax Vaccine: Is It safe? Does it Work?" (2002), Reviewer. National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., Institute of Medicine .
• Biological Threats and Terrorism: Assessing the Science and Response Capabilities (2002), Workshop Summary, Contributor. National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., Institute of Medicine .
• Weinstein, R.S. and K. Alibek (2003), Biological and Chemical Terrorism: A Guide for Healthcare Providers and First Responders, Thieme Medical Publishing, New York.
• Alibek, K., et al. (2003), Biological Weapons, Bio-Prep, Louisiana, Jan.
• Fong, I. and K. Alibek (2005),"Bioterrorism and Infectious Agents: A New Dilemma for the 21st Century", Springer.
• Fong, I. and K. Alibek (2006), New and Evolving Infections of the 21st Century, Springer.

Book chapters

• ”Firepower in the Lab: Automation in the Fight Against Infectious Diseases and Bioterrorism” (2001), Chapter 15 of Biological Weapons: Past, Present, and Future, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., Institute of Medicine.
• Jane's Chem-Bio Handbook (2002), Second Edition, F. R. Sidell, W. C. Patrick, T. R. Dashiell, K. Alibek, Jane’s Information Group, Alexandria, VA.
• K. Alibek, C. Lobanova, "Modulation of Innate Immunity to Protect Against Biological Weapon Threat" (2006), In: Microorganisms and Bioterrorism, Springer.

Monographs

• Weinstein R, Weinstein M, Alibek K et al., "Significantly reduced CCR5-tropic HIV-1 replication in vitro in cells from subjects previously immunized with Vaccinia Virus", BMC Immunology 2010 May 18;11(1):23.
• Alibek K, Grechaniy L, Klimenko T, Kucheryavenko E., "Use of endogenous modulators of nonspecific immunity for the treatment of prevention of a wide range of infectious diseases". International Conference: 21st Century pharmaceutical production and health care research and delivery in the CIS, Washington, DC (US), May 28, 2009 pp 212–229
• Tan Y, Kusuma C, St John L, Vu H, Alibek K, Wu A., "Induction of authography by anthrax lethal toxin", Biochem Biophys Res Commun, 2009 Feb 6;379(2):293-7
• Alibek K, Grechaniy L, Klymenko T, Pashkova A. (2008), "Fifth Revolution in Medicine: On the Role of Infections in Pathogenesis of Aging and Chronic Diseases", Lik Sprava, Jan-March issue
• Alibek K, Grechana T, Grechanyiy L, et al. (2008), Link Between Intestinal Microflora and Gut Immune System: Changes Related to Age, Fiziol ZurJune;3 (54).
• Alibek K, Klimenko T, et al. (2007), "Viral Cancerogenesis: Current Point of View", Lik Sprava, Jun-Aug issue.
• Alibek K and A Pashkova (2007), "Infection as a risk factor in the atherosclerosis development: current concepts and treatment opportunities", Lik Sprava, Apr-May;(3):3-13 [In Russian] PMID 18273960.
• Alibek K, NV Osipov and SA Nazarenko (2007), "Role of microorganisms in etiology and pathogenesis of aging", Lik Sprava Jan-Mar;(1-2):10-7. [In Russian]
• Dan Richards, Kenneth Alibek, Michael G Katze, Mark A Wainberg, Richard J Webby "Controversies in 21st century virology" Future Virology, May 2006, Vol. 1, No. 3, Pages 263–268
• Alibek K and G Liu (2006), "Biodefense shield and avian influenza", Emerg Infect Dis May;12(5):873-5. PMID 16710964.
• Karginov VA, A Yohannes, TM Robinson, K Alibek, et al. (2006), "Beta-cyclodextrin derivatives that inhibit anthrax lethal toxin", Bioorg Med Chem Jan 1;14(1):33-40. Epub 2005 Sep 19; PMID 16169738.
• Forino M, S Johnson, TY Wong, K. Alibek, et al. (2005), "Efficient synthetic inhibitors of anthrax lethal factor", Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Jul 5;102(27):9499-504. Epub 2005 Jun 27; PMID 15983377.
• Popov SG, Popova TG, Hopkins S, K Alibek, et al. (2005), "Effective antiprotease-antibiotic treatment of experimental anthrax", BMC Infect Dis Apr 8;5(1):25. PMID 15819985
• Alibek K (2004), "Smallpox: a disease and a weapon", Int J Infect Dis Oct;8 Suppl 2:S3-8. PMID 15491869
• Liu G, Q Zhai, D Schaffner, K Alibek, et al. (2004), "Bacillus alcalophilus peptidoglycan induces IFN-alpha-mediated inhibition of vaccinia virus replication" FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol; Oct 1;42(2):197-204; PMID 15364104.
• Alibek K, and C Bailey (2004), "BioShield or biogap?", Biosecur Bioterror; 2(2):132-3. PMID 15225408.
• Liu G, Q Zhai, DJ Schaffner, K Alibek, et al. (2004), "Prevention of lethal respiratory vaccinia infections in mice with interferon-alpha and interferon-gamma", FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol, Apr 9;40(3):201-6; PMID 15039095.
• Liu G, Zhai Q, Schaffner D, K Alibek, et al. (2004), "IL-15 induces IFN-beta and iNOS gene expression, and antiviral activity of murine macrophage RAW 264.7 cells", Immunol Lett, Feb 15;91(2-3):171-8; PMID 15019287.
• Popov SG, TG Popova, E Grene, K Alibek, et al. (2004), "Systemic cytokine response in murine anthrax", Cell Microbiol Mar;6(3):225-33; PMID 14764106.
• Karginov VA, Robinson TM, Riemenschneider J, K Alibek, et al. (2004), "Treatment of anthrax infection with combination of ciprofloxacin and antibodies to protective antigen of Bacillus anthracis", FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol, Jan 15;40(1):71-4; PMID 14734189.
• Wu AG, Alibek D, Li YL, K Alibek, et al. (2003), "Anthrax toxin induces hemolysis: an indirect effect through polymorphonuclear cells", J Infect Dis Oct 15;188(8):1138-41. Epub 2003 Sep 30; PMID 14551883.
• Radyuk SN, PA Mericko, TG Popova, K Alibek et al. (2003), "In vitro-generated respiratory mucosa: a new tool to study inhalational anthrax", Biochem Biophys Res Commun Jun 6;305(3):624-32.
• Klichko VI, J Miller, A Wu, K Alibek, et al. (2003), "Anaerobic induction of Bacillus anthracis hemolytic activity", Biochem Biophys Res Commun Apr 11;303(3):855-62, PMID 12670489.
• Popov SG, Villasmil R, Bernardi J, K Alibek, et al. (2002), "Effect of Bacillus anthracis lethal toxin on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells", FEBS Lett Sep 11;527(1-3):211-5, PMID 12220662.
• Popov SG, Villasmil R, Bernardi J, K Alibek, et al. (2002), "Lethal toxin of Bacillus anthracis causes apoptosis of macrophages", Biochem Biophys Res Commun Apr 26;293(1):349-55, PMID 12054607.
• K. Alibek, Bioterrorism Threat in Modern World, Abstract of presentation to the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, New York, 2002.
• K. Alibek, Mighty Microbe, Defense Review, Pg. 44, Autumn, 2001.
• K. Alibek, Biological Weapons: Threat and Defense. Abstract of presentation to the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, Davos, Switzerland, 2000.
• Alibek K (1999), "The Soviet Union's anti-agricultural biological weapons", Ann N Y Acad Sci 894:18-9, PMID 10681964.
• K. Alibek, Behind the mask: biological warfare, Perspective, Volume IX, Number 1, September–October 1998.

Op-Eds

• The New York Times
  • “Russia’s Deadly Expertise”, March 27, 1998.
  • “Smallpox Could Still Be a Danger”, May 24, 1999.
• The Wall Street Journal
  • “Russia Retains Biological Weapons Capability”, February, 2000.
  • “Bioterror: A Very Real Threat”, October, 2001.
• The Washington Post
  • “Anthrax under the Microscope”, with Matthew Meselson, November 5, 2002.

Selected Congressional Testimony

• Testimony before the Joint Economic Committee, May, 1998: "Terrorist and Intelligence Operations: Potential Impact on the US Economy"
• Testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, June, 1999
• Testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, October, 1999
• Testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, May, 2000
• Testimony before the House Subcommittee on National Security, Veterans Affairs, and International Relations of the Committee on Government Reform, October, 2001: "Combating Terrorism: Assessing the Threat of a Biological Weapons Attack", House Serial No. 107-103
• Testimony before the House Committee on International Relations, December, 2001: "Russia, Iraq, and Other Potential Sources of Anthrax, Smallpox, and Other Bioterrorist Weapons"
• Testimony before the Senate Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies of the Committee on Appropriations, November, 2001
• Testimony before the Subcommittee on Prevention of Nuclear and Biological Attack, Committee on Homeland Security, US House of Representatives, July 28, 2005: "Implementing a National Biodefense Strategy"
• House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, March 1999 Biological Warfare Threats
• Testimony before the House Subcommittee on Prevention of Nuclear and Biological Attack, July, 2005: "Engineering Bio-terror Agents: Lessons Learned from the Offensive US and Russian Biological Weapons Programs"

References

See also:

• "Interview Dr. Ken Alibek", Journal of Homeland Security (September 18, 2000)