Soligenix, Inc. (OTCQB: SNGX) (Soligenix or the Company), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing products to treat inflammatory diseases and biodefense medical countermeasures (MCMs) where there remains an unmet medical need, announced today that it has been awarded a contract valued at up to $6.4 million by the US Department of Health and Human Service's National Institutes of Health (NIH) (specifically funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases or NIAID). The contract is for the advanced preclinical development of OrbeShield™ (oral beclomethasone 17,21-dipropionate or oral BDP) as a MCM for the treatment of gastrointestinal acute radiation syndrome (GI ARS).
The potential three year contract contains a one year base period, with two contract options that would extend the contract an additional year each. The total award will support the development activities necessary to evaluate OrbeShield™ as a potential MCM to treat GI ARS.
"Securing this highly competitive NIH contract provides further recognition as to the innovative quality and potential therapeutic impact of our technology," stated Christopher J. Schaber, PhD, President & Chief Executive Officer of Soligenix. "This contract award, in addition to the BARDA contract award recently received, has the potential to provide the necessary funding to advance the development of OrbeShield™ while building upon the scientific evidence supporting its use as a potential MCM for GI ARS. We thank NIAID for their past and present support and look forward to collaborating closely with them as we advance this technology."
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