NEWS OF THE WEEK The U.S. and Russia also signed several agreements under which the U.S. will help Russia destroy its nuclear warheads and convert the highly enriched uranium to peaceful use in nuclear power reactors. Richard Seltzer
Search of Chinese ship fails tofindchemicals Inspection last week of a Chinese cargo ship that the U.S. believed was carrying chemical weapons precursors to Iran failed to uncover the suspect chemicals. The Chinese government, which had vehemently denied U.S. charges, immediately declared a moral victory and demanded both a public apology and financial compensation from the U.S. Refusing both, the U.S. did, however, praise the Chinese for their cooperation in resolving U.S. concerns. Reaction to the U.S. challenge and its outcome has been mixed. Some observers view the incident as an acute embarrassment for the U.S. Others see it as commendable obstinance on the part of the U.S. in its efforts to stem the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Relying on what the U.S. called credible intelligence, its ships trailed the cargo ship Yin He once it left the Chinese port of Dalian in July, en route to the port of Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). In early August, the ship reached Dubai, where 24 containers were to be off-loaded for transshipment to Iran. The UAE, however, refused to let the ship enter Dubai because of U.S. allegations that it was carrying the dual-use chemicals thiodiglycol and thionyl chloride, which can be used to make mustard and nerve gas. For three weeks, the Yin He remained adrift in the Strait of Hormuz. Finally, under pressure from the U.S., Saudi Arabia allowed it to dock at the Port of Dammam. Once in port, both Saudi and Chinese officials inspected the more than 600 containers on board. During the inspection U.S. officials acted as technical advisers to the Saudis. "The inspection revealed no evidence of these chemicals [thiodiglycol and thionyl chloride] aboard that ship/' says State Department spokesman Michael McCurry. Putting a finer point on it, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wu Jianmin adds that the inspec8
SEPTEMBER 13,1993 C&EN
tion proved the "repeated clarifications made by the Chinese side to be true/' Another State Department spokesman who asks not to be named says, "We feel that we got good cooperation from the Chinese and the Saudis on this and we were able to resolve our concerns." Still another Administration source who seeks anonymity believes that "we've done ourselves a disservice. We've damaged our credibility," and this could harm future U.S. nonproliferation efforts. The State Department spokesman says that his sources in the department "don't think it's likely that the chemicals were off-loaded" before the Yin He docked at Dammam. But Brad Roberts, a chemical warfare expert at the Center
for Strategic & International Studies, presumes that U.S. intelligence was probably correct. "I do believe the suspect cargo was thrown overboard. "The message is that the U.S. is willing to go pretty far to stop these types of shipments even if there is a possibility that it will end up with egg on its face," says Roberts. According to Amy E. Smithson, director of the Stinson Center's Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Project, "The Yin He experience on the surface looks like a negative outcome for U.S. intelligence. But if you look closer, you realize that it's a fine example of cooperation among states to try to combat the proliferation of chemical weapons." Lois Ember
Panel urges accelerated research on mifepristone The logjam that has hindered research in the U.S. on the Roussel-Uclaf antiprogestin mifepristone, or RU-486, may be broken if the biomedical research community heeds the recommendations of a report released last week. The report was prepared by an Institute of Medicine (IOM) panel chaired by Leslie Z. Benet, chairman of the department of pharmacy at the University of California, San Francisco. IOM is a component of the National Academy of Sciences complex. Mifepristone is one of numerous antiprogestins that have been synthesized and studied over the past decade. These compounds block the action of progesterone, a steroid hormone essential for establishing and maintaining pregnancy. Progesterone also plays a broad role in normal physiology and in certain conditions such as two common pelvic disorders (endometriosis and fibroid tumors) and benign brain tumors. Antiprogestins thus have many potential applications as pharmaceuticals. In combination with a prostaglandin, mifepristone has been approved in France, the U.K., and Sweden for inducing early abortions. Groups opposed to abortion have worked to prevent research on mifepristone in the U.S., fearing that if it gains approval for any medical use, it will also be used as an abortifacient (C&EN, March 11,1991, page 7). The IOM report recommends a comprehensive research agenda on antiprogestins to assess their efficacy, toxicity, and long-term safety, and to evaluate
Mifepristone (RU 486)
their utility for contraception, pregnancy termination, and treatment of numerous reproductive and nonreproductive conditions. In particular, the panel urges that "all existing preclinical and clinical trial data on mifepristone and prostaglandin for early pregnancy termination" be submitted to the Food & Drug Administration "to determine whether these data meet current U.S. regulatory requirements." Earlier this year, Roussel-Uclaf reached an agreement with the Population Council, a New York City-based nonprofit group, for distribution of mifepristone in the U.S. Sandra Waldman, speaking for the council, says the group is gearing up to submit a new drug application to FDA and to conduct clinical trials required to gain approval of mifepristone as an abortifacient. Waldman says a number of companies have expressed interest in manufacturing the drug for the Population Council. Rudy Baum
