ROCKVILLE, MD., January 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — NeoImmuneTech, Inc. (NIT or “NeoImmuneTech”), a clinical-stage T-cell biopharmaceutical company, today announced an agreement with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the US National, Institutes of Health (NIH) known to develop NeoImmuneTech’s lead active ingredient NT-I7 (efineptakine alfa) (rhIL-7-hyFc) for the treatment of Acute radiation sickness (ARS).

ARS is an acute disease caused by exposure of most of the body to a high dose of penetrating radiation in a short period of time. This type of exposure can result in profound hematopoiesis suppression and T-cell depletion, greatly increasing susceptibility to infection. There is currently no therapeutic option to speed up the recovery of the T cell compartment after radiation exposure. NT-I7, a novel long-acting human interleukin-7 (IL-7), is designed to rapidly restore lymphocyte levels and reduce susceptibility to infectious diseases after radiation exposure. In the clinical setting, NT-I7 has been shown to significantly and sustainably increase T cell counts while being safe and well tolerated.

NeoImmuneTech and NIAID will collaborate to design a study plan to test NT-I7 in NIAID’s established rodent ARS models. NIAID will conduct the study using the NT-I7 provided by NIT. The generated data will significantly support the development of NT-I7 as a medical countermeasure (MCM) for ARS. If the study confirms the efficacy of NT-I7 in rodents, further studies could be conducted to confirm NT-I7’s efficacy in non-human primates. With these pre-clinical studies, the NIT would seek U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for NT-I7 to treat ARS under the “Animal Rule,” an approval pathway used for MCM development when efficacy studies on humans are not ethical or feasible¹.

dr Se Hwan Yang, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of NeoImmuneTech, Inc. said, “As we advance the scientific and clinical…