Scott Nicholas
Humanetics has received a $3.8 million grant from the Defense Department to produce solid dosage forms of a drug currently in clinical development as a medical countermeasure for lethal toxicities related to radiation exposure.
Th company said Tuesday it will further develop the BIO 300 drug for potential use by soldiers and first responders at high risk of radiation exposure.
The grant was issued under the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs/Peer-Reviewed Medical Research Program.
Researchers from DoD and the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute discovered the radioprotective features of BIO 300 and subsequently licensed the radiation drug candidate to Humanetics.
The department aims to include new BIO 300 formulations in military and first responder field kits as part of efforts to protect them against potentially radiation-induced toxicities.
Humanetics is also evaluating the drug’s potential to reduce normal tissue toxicities related to cancer radiotherapy.
