{"id":57798,"date":"2018-02-01T06:00:59","date_gmt":"2018-02-01T06:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=57798"},"modified":"2018-02-01T06:00:59","modified_gmt":"2018-02-01T06:00:59","slug":"north-korea-threats-spur-u-s-search-for-new-radiation-therapies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/world-news\/north-korea-threats-spur-u-s-search-for-new-radiation-therapies.html","title":{"rendered":"North Korea threats spur U.S. search for new radiation therapies"},"content":{"rendered":"

North Korea threats spur U.S. search for new radiation therapies<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

The escalating threat of a potential nuclear war between North Korea and the United States has led the Department of Defense to join hands with a clutch of companies in developing more effective medical treatments for acute radiation syndrome.<\/span><\/p>\n

The hostility between the two nations reached a new height last November after Pyongyang fired an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. mainland.<\/span><\/p>\n

Health officials in Washington say they have adequate stocks in the event of a nuclear attack and subsequent mass radiation poisonings.<\/span><\/p>\n

But statements by a handful of drug developers and partnerships the government have announced suggest the DoD is stepping up efforts to develop stronger treatments that could protect the military and civilians ahead of a nuclear attack.<\/span><\/p>\n

The DoD\u2019s budget allocated $3.9 million of its total funding to develop such medical countermeasures in 2018, an increase of $600,000 from a year ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the numbers available on a handful of contracts issued to firms including Cleveland BioLabs Inc and privately held Humanetics Corp show funding of at least $13 million, suggesting that other departments of the military agency are investing in the area.<\/span><\/p>\n

The reward for a successful drug developer is high: in 2013, the government spent $157 million to stockpile Amgen Inc\u2019s nearly three decades old drug, Neupogen, but it and other stockpile drugs are limited as they only treat certain after-effects of radiation exposure.<\/span><\/p>\n

Medical experts say that the increased $700 billion military budget signed into law by President Donald Trump last month could put more emphasis on programs to counter the North Korean threat and may allow a large outlay for new treatments.<\/span><\/p>\n

The new drugs in development for radiation exposure are designed to recover the loss of all three blood lineages – white and red blood cells, and platelets – without the need for multiple blood tests or prescreening.<\/span><\/p>\n

Israel-based Pluristem Therapeutics Inc, Cleveland BioLabs and privately held Neumedicines Inc are all in the final stages of developing their treatments, while Humanetics is yet to initiate an early-stage trial for its oral drug.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pluristem has been developing an injectable drug, which could prevent or reduce the severity of radiation poisoning if taken before exposure.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAdditional funding for the U.S. military may support more rapid development of medical countermeasures,\u201d Pluristem\u2019s North America division\u2019s vice president Karine Kleinhaus said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLeukine, Neulasta, Neupogen each only targets recovery of a sub-population of white blood cells, with no effect on the other two lineages. Pre-determination of amount of radiation exposure and serial blood tests are … not required for PLX-R18 administration, making PLX-R18 more suitable in a mass casualty situation,\u201d Kleinhaus said of the company\u2019s experimental drug.<\/span><\/p>\n

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) also entered into a partnership last August with the government\u2019s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to develop drugs, focusing on the radiation issues experienced by astronauts.<\/span><\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s radiology scientist Dr. Honglu Wu told Reuters there would certainly be interest in medicines that could be taken prior to the exposure of radiation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Neumedicines Chief Executive Lena Basile, whose developmental drug HemaMax is a post-exposure therapy, said the pre-exposure treatments would be undermined because they are limited to military personnel or first responders.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou cannot give pre-exposure drugs to the civilian population,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pluristem is also planning to expand its treatment for the use in cancer patients, the company\u2019s co-Chief Executive Yaky Yanay said, adding that the drug has a $1 billion market potential in revenue.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf we are (going) to get to the chemotherapy market, we are looking at a much larger market.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-usa-radiation-treatments\/north-korea-threats-spur-u-s-search-for-new-radiation-therapies-idUSKBN1FK2V4<\/span><\/p>\n

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