With the threat of anthrax gripping the nation, Lyman Briggs School will be presenting a speaker from BioPort Corp.

BioPort is the only Food and Drug Administration-licensed manufacturer of the anthrax vaccine, company spokeswoman Kim Brennen Root said.

Root will be speaking at 7:30 p.m. today in 102 Conrad Hall about the history of BioPort, anthrax and the vaccine. The free lecture is open to the public.

“Over the last three years, as we’ve been working to gain FDA approval, there has been information about the vaccine, the company and the disease,” Root said. “Talking to a group is important to put it in context and remove some of those myths that continue to be perpetuated.”

Root said after anthrax cases were reported after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, many people thought there was no vaccine available. But Root said a small amount of the vaccine was and still is available.

Root also will discuss how the company responded to the attacks and the future of the company.

“I’ll really try to summarize the experience of the nation’s only licensed anthrax vaccine manufacturer in an uncertain time in our country,” she said.

Gerald Urquhart, a Lyman Brigg’s professor, said now is the perfect time to discuss anthrax.

“It is a clear case where there is an interaction at many political levels,” he said. “It would give them great insight into important issues that obviously get more important as time goes on. As there is an increase in bioterrorism, anthrax will probably be one of the main agents of terrorism.”