PharmAthene, Inc. PIP, a biodefense company developing medical countermeasures against
biological and chemical threats, announced today that the U.S. Army Medical
Research Institute for Chemical Defense has completed initial in vitro testing
of the Company's recombinant butyrylcholinesterase (rBChE) bioscavenger
demonstrating that it successfully targets and binds to a broad spectrum of
nerve agents, including sarin and tabun, which are believed to be part of the
Syrian chemical weapons inventory.
"These promising new data demonstrate that PharmAthene's next generation rBChE
bioscavenger may be a viable candidate as a prophylactic and therapeutic for
nerve agent poisoning," remarked Eric I. Richman, President and Chief
Executive Officer. "PharmAthene is proud to be working in collaboration with
the Department of Defense (DoD) to develop innovative new medical
countermeasures solutions to address significant national security
imperatives. If successful, our next generation rBChE bioscavenger could
provide an efficient and flexible manufacturing approach and a more
cost-effective solution for the U.S. government to address the threat of
chemical weapons."
Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) is a naturally occurring protein found in minute
quantities in blood. It functions as a natural bioscavenger to absorb toxins
such as organophosphorous compounds (nerve agents) and certain pesticides,
before they cause irreversible neurological damage.
Previous non-clinical studies in animals demonstrate that rBChE can provide
significant protection against chemical nerve agent poisoning when
administered prophylactically (prior to exposure to nerve agent) and also may
increase survival when administered therapeutically (following nerve agent
exposure).
"In addition to these latest nerve agent binding data, we have recently
demonstrated that rBChE produced using the PER.C6^® human cell line is readily
scalable with greater than 99% purity," commented Dr. John Troyer, Vice
President, Chemical Defense Product Development. "Moreover, the PER.C6^®
manufacturing platform yields up to two thousand-fold more product per liter
than human plasma-derived BChE. Pharmacokinetic testing is currently underway
and we expect to begin non-clinical efficacy testing in the coming months."
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