UAMS Awarded $8.7 Million For Radiation Research
by October 8, 2013 5:11 pm 108 views
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) has exercised two contract options worth approximately $8.7 million with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) to proceed with advanced development of a potential treatment for use in radiological or nuclear emergency situations.
The first option by BARDA, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), is for $7.5 million over two years.
A second one-year option for $1.24 million is for research to be done as part of an interagency agreement between BARDA and the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).
Including the base BARDA contract for $4.5 million entered into in 2011, the total value awarded is more than $13 million.
Under the contract, UAMS’ Martin Hauer-Jensen, M.D., Ph.D., an internationally renowned radiation researcher, will lead the evaluation of the drug, pasireotide, formerly known as SOM230, to treat gastrointestinal injuries after radiological or nuclear accidents or terrorist attacks. Hauer-Jensen will be assisted by an 18-person team of UAMS researchers.
The intestine and bone marrow are most susceptible to radiation because of their rapidly proliferating cells. Treatments exist for irradiated bone marrow but not for the intestine. Radiation damage to the intestine often determines whether a person lives or dies after exposure, Hauer-Jensen said.
The potentially life-saving pasireotide inhibits the secretions from the pancreas, giving the intestine a chance to heal after radiation exposure.
The drug must eventually receive FDA approval, but if it happens, it would be a breakthrough for emergency preparedness, say officials. It could also be used in particular cancer treatment situations.
Hauer-Jensen said that it is his hope that the drug will someday be available to address public health emergencies and to benefit cancer patients receiving certain radiation therapies.
“I am very excited about this award, and I am optimistic that in a few years we will have a safe, effective treatment with the potential to saves lives,” said Hauer-Jensen, associate dean for research and director of the Division of Radiation Health in the UAMS College of Pharmacy.
The research contract is the largest in the UAMS College of Pharmacy’s 60-year history.
“At the end of this contract period, we’ll be ready to do the pivotal studies as well as drug interaction studies involving other countermeasures used in radiological emergencies, and then hopefully get pasireotide approved by FDA for gastrointestinal injury in acute radiation syndrome,” Hauer-Jensen said.