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| Down Under |
| Aussie drug in 'dirty bomb' role |
| 2005-10-20 |
| THE US military has designated "scavenger drugs" developed by an Australian company as key to saving lives if terrorists attack the US with dirty bombs. Sydney-based company Proteome Systems is working with three of North America's top radiation research centres in a $US20 million ($26.3 million) US Government-funded program to develop treatments for radiation exposure from terrorist attacks. Proteome's scavenger drugs are small compounds designed to mop up radiation in the human body. "The US military also want to have something ready as such that if US troops are going into a war zone, they can have this as a tablet and include it in their kit," Proteome chief executive Stephen Porges said today. "If they get exposed, they can take it." The US Government also hopes the product could be distributed to the public and emergency workers if terrorists detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb" in the US. Despite real fears terrorists could get their hands on a dirty bomb, the US is not sufficiently prepared to treat large numbers of its citizens for radiation. "At the moment there is nothing," Mr Porges said. "I can't say this will be ready in a year or whatever, but this is the lead compound that they are currently working on for that solution." The US Government became interested in Proteome's compound after scientists from the US Armed Forces Radiation Research Institute tested it on rats. Mr Porges said that in experiments using rival company's products, the best result was 50 per cent of rats being alive 30 days after being exposed to radiation. When the US military used Proteome's compound, 90 per cent of the rats survived. The US Government then created the Centres for Countermeasures Against Radiation to develop new medical products to protect against, mitigate the effects of, and treat radiation exposure from a terrorist attack. Proteome, along with 20 top scientists from The Medical College of Wisconsin, Detroit's Henry Ford Health Systems and the University of Toronto, have formed the Centres for Countermeasures Against Radiation. "We're getting the three smartest and best groups in the world to effectively work on our compounds to develop a radiation solution," Mr Porges said. The $US20 million deal is a huge boost for the Australian Stock Exchange listed Proteome. "They have committed $US20 million and we are only a $30 million company," Mr Porges said. Development of the compound began 14 years ago and has been used to create a cream for treating radiation suffered by breast cancer patients. Mr Porges said the potential for the compound in other forms of medical radiation treatment was immense. "We are now working on using the same compound for any type of radiation treatment," he said. "Any oncology treatment you are getting, there are all of these side effects which normally you put up with because there is no alternative. "But, suddenly we own a huge market place for therapeutic radiation treatment for cancer." Scavenger drugs are small molecule compounds that may also have therapeutic applications in the neurodegenerative, cardiovascular, and inflammatory areas. |
| Posted by:God Save The World AKA Oztralian |
| #2 way Kool..Besides Iodine, does anyone know of any other elements or small molecule compounds? |
| Posted by: Red Dog 2005-10-20 14:08 |
| #1 cool |
| Posted by: 2b 2005-10-20 06:49 |