Not sure but last I remember reading they were trying to reproduce the virus in an animal. according to this article, it looks like they have done this.
When monkey cells were infected with the new virus, the virus multiplied and then deformed the host cells. But a serum from patients who developed an immunity to SARS after recovering from the disease controlled cell deformation, according to a statement released Monday by the WHO. The serum could be used to treat the disease, observers said.
I really wish I weren't so scientifically illiterate. Do they have an Epidemiology-Understanding the Plague for Dummies?