First human drug trial in US for pill that reverses nuclear radiation poisoning

The first human trial of a pill to reverse nuclear radiation poisoning has been launched in the United States.

In the trial, 42 participants are given the drug — called HOPO 14-1 — as an oral pill in Plymouth, Michigan, and then monitored to see how well it is absorbed and cleared from the body.

If the trial is successful, the treatment could be available by 2024, according to the National Institute on Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which is funding the research.

News of the trial comes amid heightened fears of nuclear war as Russia continues to threaten to use nuclear weapons as it continues its war in Ukraine.

Air defense missiles hit targets over Kiev on Monday night. It was unclear whether these were the hypersonic ‘Kinzhal’ missiles, although Ukraine said it shot down six over the capital.

President Putin has repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons in the early days of the war, while his supporters have called for the use of nuclear weapons to wipe out US allies such as the United Kingdom.

Kevin Ryan, the former chief of staff of the US military’s Space and Missile Defense Command, warned today that shooting down Putin’s “unstoppable” missiles made him more likely to move to the nuclear option.

“If he cannot force victory with conventional weapons, he will probably turn to nuclear weapons,” he told DailyMail.com’s sister publication in the UK.

Nuclear bombs or leaks from nuclear power plant accidents can release dangerous heavy metals into the atmosphere.

These can then be absorbed by humans through broken skin, breathing and eating contaminated food and can cause damage to DNA, tissues and organs in the body, increasing the risk of disease, including cancer.

One of the ways to reduce this damage is to use a drug that binds to heavy metals to remove them from the body as quickly as possible.

Two such treatments – using the drug DPTA – are already available in the US, but they must be administered intravenously and only target three heavy metals – namely plutonium, americium and curium.

They can also bind to and remove essential ions from the body, such as magnesium, which is used to help muscles move.

But scientists say the new treatment – which has been in development since 2006 – is up to 100 times more effective at binding to and removing heavy metals from the body.

It also binds to much more than the standard three and is administered via an oral tablet, making it much easier to use during an emergency.

In the first phase of clinical trials, which are conducted to test the safety of a drug, participants are split into seven groups of six participants each.

The first group receives a dose of 100 milligrams (mg) of HOPO 14-1, after which the doses are increased to 7,500 mg in the last group.

If a lower dose is considered safe, a group will also receive doses below 100 mg.

After receiving the drug, participants will be followed for up to 14 days to measure how well it is absorbed, distributed, and cleared from the body.

If successful, the drug will move on to phase two and three clinical trials – which will test whether the treatment is effective and better than other currently available drugs.

It could be available to the public in 2024, NIAID says.