BUFFALO, NY, Sep. 22, 2009 (Marketwire) --
BUFFALO, NY -- (Marketwire) -- 09/22/09 -- Cleveland BioLabs, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBLI) today announced that it has been awarded an additional $458,512 grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to continue studies of certain mitigating properties of Protectan CBLB502 in the context of hematopoietic (blood/bone marrow) damage from radiation exposure. The Company had previously received $774,183 under this grant, Medical Countermeasures to Enhance Platelet Regeneration and Increase Survival Following Radiation Exposure, which is funded through the Project BioShield Act of 2004 and administered by the Department of Health and Human Services.
The goal of this program is to accelerate the development of safe and effective medical products to mitigate and treat thrombocytopenia and to enhance platelet regeneration after radiation exposure from radiological and nuclear terrorist attacks. Specifically, this initiative supports research and development of promising new approaches and medical products to enhance platelet regeneration and yield improved survival. Currently, there is no approved therapeutic drug in the Strategic National Stockpile for this radiation-induced complication.
"With NIAID's support, we have successfully demonstrated Protectan CBLB502's strong ability to mitigate the occurrence and severity of thrombocytopenia, as well as to accelerate recovery time in non-human primate models. We believe that the allocation of additional funds for this work is indicative of NIAID's recognition of our progress in developing Protectan CBLB502 as a potential medical countermeasure," commented Andrei Gudkov, Ph.D., D. Sci., Cleveland BioLabs Chief Scientific Officer and Principle Investigator on the grant. "This funding will help accelerate our work towards optimizing potential regimens of administration for enhanced mitigation of radiation-induced thrombocytopenia, a major determinant of the severity of acute radiation syndrome and mortality."
About CBLB502
CBLB502 is a derivative of a microbial protein, which has demonstrated the capacity to reduce injury from acute stresses, such as radiation and chemotherapy, in animal models. CBLB502 mobilizes several tissue protective mechanisms, including inhibition of programmed cell death (apoptosis), reduction of oxidative damage and induction of regeneration-promoting cytokines.
CBLB502 is being developed under the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Animal Efficacy Rule to treat Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS) or radiation poisoning from any exposure to radiation such as a nuclear or radiological weapon/ dirty bomb, or from a nuclear accident.
