BARDA Awards $5M for Anti-radiation Drugs Development Program

The U.S. Health and Human Services Department announced the awarding of research funding to two companies to develop treatments against acute radiation syndrome.

The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Department of Health and Human Services, announced this week it has awarded a total of about $5 million in research grants to two companies working on treatments for gastrointestinal tract injuries associated with acute radiation syndrome.

The move is part of the U.S. government's preparedness program in case of a nuclear emergency such as a bomb or an improvised device.

Apogee Biotechnology of Hummelstown, PA, will get $2 million over two years to look at a drug known as ABC294640 and see how effective it is in reducing gastrointestinal injury caused by radiation exposure. It works by inhibiting an enzyme called sphingosine kinase.