Promicin inhibitor

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Shawn, ill from the effects of the inhibitor.

Promicin inhibitor was a medication given to the 4400 in order to suppress their powers. It had the unintentional impact of causing serious illness in the 4400. The effects of the inhibitor were first seen when Maia became ill in Lockdown, and the episodes The Fifth Page and Mommy's Bosses were dedicated to finding and curing the cause of the new 4400 illness, which turned out to be the inhibitor.

Dennis Ryland was responsible for the creation and guidance of the program but used Max Hudson to create it. Hudson argued that the inhibitor was not ready for use when it was first given to the 4400, but Ryland insisted that it be used, ready or not. The inibitor program started about eight weeks after the 4400 returned. Ryland did this amid fears of who the 4400 were and where they were from, and because of the abilities and actions of Orson Bailey and Oliver Knox - it was hoped that they would be the only 4400s to develop abilities, so the phenomenon could be kept a secret.

The rash which develops after prolonged use of the promicin inhibitor

All of the 4400 were ordered to return to quarantine until the illness was taken care of.

The inhibitor "piggybacks" on glucose, after entering the brain through facilitated diffusion. It is a binding protein-that is, it binds itself to promicin in the body and neutralizes it. However, if there is no promicin for it to bind to, it remains in the body. Eventually, it builds up to toxic levels in the lymph nodes, damaging the immune system.

After all the 4400 began to get sick from the Promicin Inhibitor, it was Dr. Kevin Burkhoff, with the help of Tom Baldwin and Diana Skouris from NTAC, who unconvered the secret of the Inhibitor and used Isabelle Tyler's untainted blood to develop an antidote. By simply filtering pure promicin out of her blood an injecting it into a sick 4400, the inhibitor would bind to it and leave the body.

As Isabelle was only an infant at the time, Burkhoff was only able to procure enough promicin for a single dose, but Richard knew that Shawn could use his ability to heal others, so he was chosen to receive the shot. Once cured, he was able to begin to heal the other 4400s, and promicin extracted from the blood taken from those he healed could then be used to heal others. Unfortunately, by this time, twenty-eight members of the 4400 had already died.

Dennis Ryland testifying about his role in the inhibitor scandal.

The news of this program was eventually leaked to the media leading to talk of a scandal. Marco Pacella noted that on talk radio 90% of callers backed Ryland's decision. Ryland said he was proud to lead the program, claiming that without it all human institutions would become obsolete and the 4400 would dominate the world. He painted the inhibitor as necessary and that without it there would likely be a war. Despite this, he and his co-conspirators were arrested and prosecuted. Diana commented that she was surprised how high up the chain of command the conspiracy stretched, although the extent of this was not directly stated.

Although the inhibitor was devised and created by NTAC, it appeared to have been administered worldwide, as Werner Loecher was shown to have succumbed to its effects despite having returned to his native Germany, and 4400s in other countries were shown to have developed abilities after the scandal was exposed. The consequences for those administering the inhibitor in other countries were not shown.

The promicin inhibitor scandal was the Casus belli for the creation of the Nova Group, who sought vengeance by attempting to murder those responsible. Only the attempts on Ryland's life failed, and as a result he was the only conspirator left alive for trial. He was not imprisoned. Relations between the 4400 and NTAC were shaken by the affair, and it permanently soured Tom and Diana's friendship with Ryland. After they were taken off the inhibitor, every 4400 developed an ability. They either developed new abilities or they refined the ones they had. Maia became overwelmed by her ability to predict the future after going off the inhibitor. Although Isabelle was the only available 4400 who had not received the inhibitor, it was later revealed that Wesley Hauser never went on the inhibitor, having never checked back with NTAC after leaving quarantine.

A non-harmful version of the inhibitor was created for all of the 4400 incarcerated by NTAC (such as TJ Kim and Boyd Gelder). There is also a promicin inhibitor that instantly stops 4400 from using abilities.