The Biden administration has placed an order for $290 million worth of a drug that can be used to treat radiation sickness.
On October 4, the United States Department for Health and Human Services (HHS) announced it was purchasing a supply of the drug Nplate "as part of long-standing, ongoing efforts to be better prepared to save lives following radiological and nuclear emergencies."
Nplate is a prescription drug produced by California-based biotechnology company Amgen. This means it is not available to buy over the counter. According to Amgen, the drug is given as an injection by a healthcare provider.
Amgen says the drug is intended to treat low blood platelet counts due to a condition known as immune thrombocytopenia, and not for a low platelet count caused by any other condition.
However, HHS states that the drug is approved to treat blood cell injuries that accompany acute radiation syndrome in adults and children.
While it has been available on the commercial market for some time, Amgen told Newsweek this is the first time it has supplied Nplate to the government, which purchased it under the 2004 Project Bioshield Act.
According to the HHS statement, the government supply would be held separately to the doses available in the commercial market.
The purchase of the drugs comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested that nuclear weapons are not off the table in the ongoing war in Ukraine—he declared he would use "all available means" to defend Russian territory during a speech on September 30.
However, it is not clear that the purchase of Nplate is linked to concerns regarding this. Newsweek has contacted the HHS for comment.
Rupak Pathak, assistant professor in the Division of Radiation Health in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, told Newsweek the medication works by stimulating the body to produce blood platelets, which are produced in the bone marrow.
"These platelets are produced from megakaryocytes. Mechanistic studies revealed that a protein called thrombopoietin stimulates megakaryopoiesis and platelet production," Pathak said. "Bone marrow is one of the most radiation sensitive organs in our body. Radiation causes a significant decline in the stem and progenitor cells, including the megakaryocytes, as a result platelet number decreases significantly.
"Because platelets play an important role in blood clotting, a decrease in platelet number increases the risk of bleeding, which contributes to radiation toxicity. Therefore, increasing the number of platelets following radiation injury may provide beneficial effects.
"Nplate is a thrombopoietin mimetic, it helps in stimulating megakaryocytes and platelet production. Because of this property, Nplate has been approved to enhance platelet count in the blood following radiation."
Acute radiation sickness occurs when a person's body is exposed to a high dose of radiation that reaches the internal organs within seconds. This can cause impaired blood clotting due to low platelet counts and potentially life-threatening bleeding.
In the private sector, the cost of Nplate in powder form for injection is $1,195 per 125 mcg according to Drugs.com, though this may differ across providers and doesn't take into account insurance plans. It is a prescription medication.
Nplate can cause serious side effects, including the worsening of a precancerous blood condition to a blood cancer, and a higher risk of blood clots.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
