The protective effects of a new pharmaceutical will be evaluated in a new study of nonhuman primates, according to Aeolus Pharmaceuticals of Mission Viejo, CA.
The study will test the efficacy of the firm's AEOL 10150 compound as a treatment for lung damage due to radiation exposure from both nuclear and radiological sources. It will also establish an animal model that can be validated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the approval of a commercial product as a countermeasure for pulmonary acute radiation syndrome.
AEOL 10150 is a small molecule that "catalytically consumes reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (free radicals)," the firm said in a statement. The manganoporphyrin compound "contains a positively charged manganese metal ion that is able to accept and give electrons to and from reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species."
The agent appears to have multiple mechanisms of action, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiangiogenic activities. The new study builds upon previous research in rats and mice where doses of the compound, given daily up to 24 hours after irradiation, were found to mitigate functional lung injury and improve survival time.
Aeolus said it expects that the results in nonhuman primates will be one component needed for approval of the agent as a countermeasure for acute radiation syndrome under the FDA's Animal Rule.
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