The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said it has spent $290 million to purchase a drug to treat illnesses caused by nuclear radiation in case of nuclear emergency. In a statement released Tuesday, the department’s Strategic Preparedness and Response Department announced that it had purchased Nplate from Amgen USA Inc “as part of a long-running effort to better prepare to save lives in radiological and nuclear emergencies.”
Acute radiation syndrome, caused by exposure to a high dose of radiation, can cause a range of symptoms. Severe cases can have devastating effects on the body, including destroying bone marrow and causing internal bleeding, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The drug Nplate, which can be used for both adults and children, aims to reduce bleeding often caused by radiation.
The Food and Drug Administration first approved the drug in 2008 to combat the autoimmune disorder that causes dangerous bleeding and extended another approval in January of last year to use the drug as a radiation therapy.
The new deal comes in the wake of growing international concern regarding the potential use of nuclear weapons in Russia’s war on Ukraine.
And Russian President Vladimir Putin recently threatened that his country would take all necessary measures for victory and would not hesitate to use nuclear weapons.
The Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and evacuation centers are preparing with potassium iodine pills, which can help prevent the absorption of radiation, and prepare for a possible nuclear attack on the city.
US officials emphasized that Washington would take decisive action if Russia moved to use nuclear weapons, and warned of dire consequences for Putin.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last month called for an “end of the era of nuclear blackmail” and the global abolition of nuclear weapons in order to prevent the “destruction of humanity”.
