In response to concerns over possible radiological or nuclear incidents, the Radiation and Nuclear Countermeasures Program within the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) was tasked by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to support development of medical countermeasures (MCM) to treat the acute and delayed
injuries that can result from radiation exposure. To date, the only three drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treatment of
acute radiation syndrome are
growth factors targeting granulocyte (Neupogen® or Neulasta®) or granulocyte and macrophage (Leukine®) hematopoietic cell lineages. Although these are currently stockpiled for deployment in response to a mass casualty scenario, these
growth factors will likely be administered in a scarce-resources environment and availability may be limited. Therefore, there is growing interest in understanding the role that these
growth factors play in mitigating radiation damage, to optimize their use and maximize the number of people who can be treated. For these reasons, the NIAID and the
Radiation Injury Treatment Network organized a workshop to explore the use of
growth factors and other
cytokines as MCMs in the treatment of radiation-induced
injuries. Subject matter experts from government, industry and academia gathered at this workshop to discuss the concept of operations, triage and treatment, administration to diverse civilian populations,
growth factors under development for radiation indications, and how the practice of medicine can inform other potential approaches.