14 DAY TRIAL // The war of terror has started employing a wide array of weapons, from biological to radioactive ones.
Recent threats to the public health linked to the radiation were the contamination of several British Airways planes, afflicting as many as 30,000 travelers, and the "famous" death of ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, poisoned polonium-210.
That's why, for scientists, more important than a "morning after" birth control pill is a radioprotective "morning after" pill.
Inologic, a Seattle innovative biopharmaceutical company, made the announcement that it has been offered a $1.07 million government contract from the Uniformed Services University in conjunction with the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute and the Department of Defense to develop radioprotective agents.
The drugs resulted would be used against a nuclear attack or accident.
The radioprotective drug developed by Inologic could either function as a standard birth control pill, before radiation exposure to protect the body from irradiation or as a type of "morning after" pill, enhancing the damage repair when the body was already exposed to radiation.
Of course, the Department of Defense is particularly interested in a drug able to protect U.S. troops from a potential attack employing radioactivity.
But the drug will have civil availability, too, in case of radioactive exposure. "Our technology is unique and offers considerable advantages for developing this kind of drug," said Dr. Beatrice Langton-Webster, chief executive officer of Inologic.
"This contract will enable us to work on discovering a drug that is safe and cost-effective and, most importantly, can be used prior to or after exposure to radiation. We believe this drug could have significant impact in providing first responders, the public and the military with a needed measure of safety and security."
The radioprotective drugs would be based on the company's proprietary inositol signaling molecules (ISMs) that posses the ability to protect or repair the ionizing effects of exposure to radiation.