Polonium poisoning creates a market need for treatment
Few treatments exists for curing alpha particle damage; Litvinenko’s death sends companies scrambling; Ovation Pharmaceuticals, Biolabs Protectan, and Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals all make claims
The days when a spy could sit down relaxedly with a Russian colleague
for a shaken martini are over. What with the Russian secret services
running a ring of experimental poisoners from London to Kiev, CIA
officers have every reason to fear more than just a hangover in the
morning. Just ask Alexander Litvinenko, the former KGB officer whose
recent death from polonium poisoing — skillfully executed in a sushi
restaurant — has shined a bright light on an area of radiological
warfare heretofore rarely observed. It is no wonder that many see in
it a fruitful line of research — and, perhaps, business.
Whether a surgical assassination like that of Mr. Litvinenko or a
“dirty bomb” attempt, the need to treat the victims is of the highest
order. A distinction needs to be made here: While a dirty bomb
releases massive amounts of gamma particles, for which there are
numerous, treatments, the ingestion of radioactive material results in
alpha particle damage, for which massive cell death and organ damage
is the norm. Currently, there are relatively fewer types of treatment
for alpha particles. However, with radioactive activity on the rise
more pharmaceutical companies are in the race.
Consider Deerfield, Illinois-based Ovation Pharmaceuticals, whose
product Chemet, is designed to bind with radioactive and heavy metal
isotopes and speed up their ejection from the body. The movement away
from organs and bone marrow increases survivability and chances for
recuperation. Cleveland, Ohio-based Biolabs Protectan takes a
different approach by preventing cells from self destructing thus
giving them more time to heal, while Neumune, a drug developed by San
Diego, Califoria-based Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals helps bone marrow
regenerate so as to boost cell production and the immune systems
response. (Unfortunately, it only works once the radioactive materials
have been ejected from the body.) Or, perhaps, a combination of all
three would be best. “There could be multiple cocktails that could
have a synergistic benefit,” said Ovation’s Jason Brandt.
-read more in Steve LeVine’s Wall Street Journal report [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116969485323087208.html]
