PASADENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Neumedicines Inc., a privately held company developing therapies based on interleukin 12 (IL-12) as a radiation medical countermeasure and as a hematopoietic immunotherapeutic (HIT), announces that it has joined the Alliance for Biosecurity. The organization is a collaboration among pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies that are working in the public interest to improve prevention and treatment of biological threats, syndromes and diseases that present global security challenges.
“Our company’s goals are aligned with those of the Alliance’s,” said Neumedicines President & CEO Lena A. Basile, Ph.D., J.D. “We are striving to promote a stronger, more effective partnership between government, the biopharmaceutical industry and other stakeholders with the aim of advancing the development of critically needed medical countermeasures. We were delighted to be invited to join the Alliance, where we are currently the only member focused on achieving and sustaining a medical countermeasure against radiation.”
The Alliance for Biosecurity seeks to develop sound public policy proposals that could bolster national efforts to rapidly develop, produce, stockpile and distribute medical countermeasures. Alliance member companies are focused on innovations created in the biodefense space that can inform and accelerate drug and vaccine development in many critical areas. The Alliance supports a long-term national security vision for achieving and sustaining defenses against a range of threats that present national security challenges.
To date, Neumedicines has received more than $49 million from Biomedical Advanced Research & Development Authority (BARDA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to support the development of HemaMax™ (recombinant human interleukin 12 or rHuIL-12) for the treatment of hematopoietic syndrome of acute radiation sickness (HSARS). Neumedicines’ studies in non-human primates have shown that a single, low-dose, subcutaneous injection of HemaMax™ at 24-25 hours after exposure to lethal amounts of radiation can significantly increase survival, without any supportive care, including blood products or antibiotics. First-in-human and Phase 1b studies have shown that HemaMax™ at a dose equivalent to the efficacious non-human primate dose is safe in healthy volunteers. HemaMax™ in animal studies also has shown the ability to promote the recovery of red blood cells, platelets, lymphocytes and neutrophils, as well as anti-infectivity and anti-tumor responses, which could play a supportive role in the treatment of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation.
Preclinical, nonclinical and clinical studies have been funded in whole or in part with federal funds from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Office of the Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contracts No. HHSO1002000800060C and No. HHSO100201100037C.
About HemaMax™
HemaMax™ is based on recombinant human interleukin-12 (IL-12). IL-12 is a heterodimeric cytokine that has been shown to play an essential role in regulating inflammatory responses, including innate resistance to infection and an ability to stimulate the production of interferon-gamma from natural killer cells, macrophages and T-cells. IL-12 also induces resistance to many pathogens and to transplantable and chemically induced tumors.
About Neumedicines Inc.
Neumedicines Inc. is developing interleukin-12 (IL-12), which addresses multiple indications including unmet clinical and societal needs in the fields of oncology, hematology and immunology. The company’s product candidate, HemaMax™ (rHuIL-12), functions by targeting multiple pathways of hematopoiesis and innate immunity. HemaMax™ is currently being development as a biodefense radiation medical countermeasure and for indications in oncology, initially as a hematopoietic immunotherapeutic (HIT) in cancer patients receiving aggressive chemotherapy. Neumedicines is committed to developing and maximizing the scientific, clinical and commercial potential of its product pipeline. For more information, please visit www.neumedicines.com or follow the company on Twitter @Neumedicines.
