Humanetics Receives Additional $1.8 Million in Funding From Department of Defense for Development of Oral Drug to Protect Against Radiation.
MINNEAPOLIS - October 9, 2006. Humanetics Corporation today announced that the United States Congress has provided $1.8 million in the FY 2007 Department of Defense (DoD) Appropriations Bill to Humanetics for continued development of its oral countermeasure to ionizing radiation resulting from a nuclear event or terrorist attack involving radioactive materials. This funding is in addition to $1.25 million provided to Humanetics last year in the FY 2006 DoD Appropriations Bill. Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman was instrumental in securing over $3 million of Congressional funding for Humanetics which will be used to accelerate development of a safe and effective oral countermeasure to improve the nation's ability to respond to a nuclear crisis.
The federal funding will support further development of BIO 300, a unique oral drug that is being developed as a countermeasure against ionizing radiation, including exposure to radioactive fallout after a nuclear event. The product is intended for use by the military, first responders (police and fire departments) and civilians. BIO 300 was discovered by researchers at the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute (AFRRI), a research institute within the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Humanetics obtained a worldwide exclusive license from The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., acting on behalf of USU and the NIH, to develop BIO 300 as an FDA approved drug for the prevention of acute radiation syndrome (ARS). ARS is a potentially fatal disease that occurs when the body receives a high dose of ionizing radiation, usually over a short period of time. Exposure to radiation causes a cascading deterioration of health leading to destruction of platelets and infection-fighting white blood cells in bone marrow. Currently, there are no drugs approved by the FDA for the prevention or treatment of ARS.
Recent acts and threats of terrorism and the proliferation of nuclear weapons programs in rogue states have created an urgent and unmet need for countermeasures against nuclear attacks. Congress responded by passing Project BioShield which allocated up to $5.6 billion over ten years to fund the research, development and procurement of drugs, biological products or devices to treat or prevent injury from exposure to biological, chemical, radiological or nuclear agents as a result of a military, terrorist or nuclear attack. It is estimated that a nuclear blast of a 12.5 kiloton bomb in a densely populated urbansetting such as New York or Washington DC may kill as many as 50,000 people instantly, with the radiation fallout killing up to 200,000 more.
As demonstrated by the chaos surrounding hurricanes Katrina and Rita last year, reliance on existing medical infrastructure to administer drugs to mass numbers of civilians in a short period of time is not a viable option. Humanetics is working to develop a safe and effective oral countermeasure that can be stockpiled in advance by businesses, schools, colleges, government offices and individual households to provide a level of protection currently unavailable to at-risk populations. This approach represents a new paradigm for both national and worldwide biodefense by providing a cost effective and responsible defensive option for large civilian populations.
Said Humanetics President and CEO Ronald J. Zenk, "We are delighted to have an opportunity to develop a national solution for ARS that includes civilians as well as the military and first responders. We are encouraged that Congress recognizes the importance of BIO 300 as a potential countermeasure to prevent harm caused by ionizing radiation."
