ReAlta Life Sciences Announces New Research Collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to Evaluate RLS-0071 as a Medical Countermeasure for Acute Radiation Syndrome
“We are very pleased to partner with NIAID and AFRRI to evaluate ReAlta’s lead drug candidate, RLS-0071, as a radiation countermeasure for GI-ARS,” says Dr. Ulrich Thienel, Chief Executive Officer of ReAlta.
ReAlta Life Sciences, Inc. (“ReAlta” or the “Company”), a mid-stage clinical biotech company dedicated to saving lives by rebalancing the inflammatory response to address life-threatening diseases, today announces that the company will be utilizing the preclinical services program offered by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to evaluate RLS-0071 as a medical countermeasure for Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS). Under a research collaboration, scientists at the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute (AFRRI), working with support from the Radiation and Nuclear Countermeasures Program (RNCP) at NIAID, will evaluate the ability RLS-0071 to mitigate the gastrointestinal effects of ARS (GI-ARS) in a preclinical mouse model.
“We are very pleased to partner with NIAID and AFRRI to evaluate ReAlta’s lead drug candidate, RLS-0071, as a radiation countermeasure for GI-ARS,” says Dr. Ulrich Thienel, Chief Executive Officer of ReAlta. “Our collaboration may provide a much-needed therapy for radiation-induced tissue damage that is associated with high mortality.” Dr. Neel Krishna, Chief Scientific Officer at ReAlta adds that, “the anti-inflammatory, dual mechanism-of-action of RLS-0071 enables the rapid inhibition of both complement activation and neutrophil effectors that are key initiators of deadly inflammation in ARS.”
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
As one of the 27 institutes and centers of the U.S. NIH, NIAID conducts and supports basic and applied research to better understand, treat, and ultimately prevent infectious, immunologic, and allergic diseases. For more than 60 years, NIAID research has led to new therapies, vaccines, diagnostic tests, and other technologies that have improved the health of millions of people in the U.S. and around the world.
About AFRRI
AFRRI was established in 1961 and operated by the U.S. Defense Atomic Support Agency and the Defense Nuclear Agency until 1993, when it was realigned with the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS). AFRRI is unique and powerful radiobiological research institute, with six decades of active, robust, and outstanding support to the U.S. Department of Defense through research, reach-back, and education. It is the only U. S. Department of Defense medical R&D facility dedicated solely to nuclear and radiological defense.
About Acute Radiation Syndrome
ARS, also known as radiation sickness or radiation poisoning, is a collection of health effects that are caused by exposure to high amounts of ionizing radiation in a short period of time. Symptoms can start within minutes of exposure and can last for several months. Early symptoms are usually nausea and vomiting. In the following hours or weeks, initial symptoms may appear to improve, before the development of additional complications, after which either recovery or death follows. Exposure to radiation can occur accidentally or intentionally, and may involve nuclear power reactor accidents or attacks, certain devices used in cancer therapy, dirty bombs, or nuclear or radiological weapons.
About ReAlta Life Sciences
ReAlta Life Sciences, Inc. is a mid-stage clinical biotech company dedicated to saving lives by rebalancing the inflammatory response to address life threatening acute inflammatory and rare diseases. The Company’s EPICC peptides are based on research into the human astrovirus, HAstV-1, which causes a non-inflammatory, self-limiting gastroenteritis unique among viruses by inhibiting components of the innate immune system. ReAlta’s therapeutic peptides leverage these virus-derived mechanisms to rebalance complement and inflammatory processes in the body. The company’s pipeline is led by RLS-0071, which has received IND clearance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and acute graft-versus-host disease, and IND clearance, Orphan Drug Designation, and Fast Track Designation by the FDA, and Orphan Drug Designation by the European Medicines Agency, for the treatment of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). The company launched in 2018 and is located in Norfolk, Virginia and Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. For more information, please visit www.realtalifesciences.com.
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