The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) recently purchased two medical products to treat injuries to bone marrow in radiological or nuclear incidents.
The products, called colony stimulating factors, work by stimulating bone marrow to produce blood cells like neutrophils to decrease the risk of developing an infection from acute radiation syndrome. Colony stimulating factors are typically used in patients with cancer.
ASPR’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) entered into a $37.7 million agreement with Amgen USA, Inc. for the purchase of Neulasta. Neulasta has already been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat both adults and children who have been exposed to high doses of radiation that damaged bone marrow.
BARDA also entered into a $37.6 million agreement with Sanofi-Aventis U.S., LLC for the purchase of a second product called Leukine. The FDA has not yet approved Leukine, which awaits further study prior to approval.
Under the Project BioShield Act of 2004, BARDA can use its authority and funding to purchase needed medical countermeasures, such as drugs, vaccines and diagnostics, to protect the public health against a variety of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats.