NIH-Funded Research Leads to Approval of Drug for Acute Radiation Injury

 The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of filgrastim (trade name Neupogen) to increase survival of people acutely exposed to high doses of radiation that damage the bone marrow, for example, as a result of a nuclear power plant accident or terrorist attack. (NIAID, 4/21/15)

The agency’s decision was based largely on research funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. These studies showed that the drug, which promotes growth of white blood cells, greatly increases survival in an animal model of radiation exposure.

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