Epistem the UK biotechnology and contract research company announced today that it has been selected by Humanetics Corporation of Minnesota, USA, to provide specialised preclinical efficacy testing services for agents likely to protect the intestinal epithelium from subsequent radiation damage.  Under an appropriation award to Humanetics from the US Department of Defense, over the next 12 months Epistem will screen potential drug candidates that may ultimately be adopted by the Armed Forces as prophylactic agents to be taken where there is risk of radiation exposure or nuclear attack. Such agents should reduce the level of intestinal related radiation sickness and improve morbidity and mortality.

Epistem is an established provider of similar assays for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Medical Countermeasures against Radiological and Nuclear Threats (MCART) and also in the area of oncology supportive care. The assays provide quantitative and mechanistic data to assess the efficacy of novel drug candidates, and help define optimum dose scheduling.

Epistem