Faron Pharmaceuticals Limited (AIM:FARN) revealed it had secured a grant from the US government for its participation in a new research consortium.
The Department of Defense (DoD) will provide funding as the group investigates the use of intravenous interferon beta (Traumakine) in preventing ischemia-reperfusion injury in battlefield situations.
The study, named Resuscitation by Endothelial Stabilization and Targeted Oxygen Rescue (RESTOR) Platform for Battlefield Applications, involves collaboration with Duquesne University School of Pharmacy and Wake Forest Medical University Health Sciences.
Traumakine has previously demonstrated efficacy in limb salvage and the prevention of systemic inflammation and organ damage when administered at the time of tourniquet placement.
The current study aims to explore the drug’s potential as a preventative treatment, administered before the application of a tourniquet, simulating pre-treatment of operational units prior to combat.
Juho Jalkanen, CEO of Faron said: "We are very pleased to see the DoD's continued support of this research group and the Traumakine program.
“From our learnings from previous clinical trials with TraumakineÒ, we envision that the best outcomes with intravenous interferon beta can be achieved when the drug is used for the prevention, and not necessarily treatment, of systemic inflammation and organ damage."