DoD awards Cleveland Biolabs $45 M for radiation countermeasure

Manjula Puthenedam, PhD, | | Health Imaging | Molecular Imaging
Cleveland BioLabs has been awarded a $45 million contract from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Chemical Biological and Medical Systems Medical Identification and Treatment Systems (CBMS-MITS) to develop and stockpile CBLB502 as a medical radiation countermeasure. 

CBLB502 will protect soldiers from the effects of lethal doses of total body irradiation following a radiation disaster and decrease incapacitation from radiation in order to maintain military operations, said the Buffalo, N.Y.-based company.

Under the terms of the contract, the CBMS-MITS will initiate funding for Cleveland BioLabs’ advanced development of CBLB502 through FDA approval in the amount of $14.8 million (including options). Upon FDA licensure, the contract provides options for the purchase of $30 million worth of CBLB502 troop-equivalent doses. 

In July, CBLB502 was granted fast track status from the FDA for reducing the risk of death following total body irradiation during or after radiation disaster. There is currently no FDA approved medical countermeasure to reduce the risk of death following a lethal dose of total body irradiation, added Cleveland BioLabs.

Manjula Puthenedam, PhD,

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