Kindeva Drug Delivery division Meridian Medical Technologies has won a new contract worth up to $129m from the US Government for the supply of its DuoDote chemical nerve agent antidote autoinjectors to the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS).
Managed by the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) within the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the SNS contains medicines and devices for lifesaving care, which are intended for use as stopgap buffers when the immediate supply of such materials may not be available or sufficient.
The DuoDote dual-chamber autoinjector contains atropine and pralidoxime chloride and was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2006. It is indicated for the treatment of poisoning from organophosphorus nerve agents and organophosphorus insecticides.
Perhaps the nerve agent most well-known to the general public, sarin has been in use since World War II and became infamous in more recent times for its 2013 use on civilians in Syria during the Bashar al-Assad regime.
The DuoDote autoinjectors will be manufactured at Kindeva Drug Delivery’s facility in St Louis, Missouri. They will then be stockpiled and available for rapid deployment as part of the SNS CHEMPACK programme. SNS CHEMPACK is an ASPR initiative in which containers of nerve agent antidotes are placed in secure locations around the US to enable rapid response to chemical incidents.
Kindeva CEO Milton Boyer commented: “As a trusted partner to the SNS, this contract underscores the ongoing importance of maintaining readiness against potential threats.
"Our long-standing partnership with the SNS reflects our commitment to national preparedness and our ability to deliver crucial medical countermeasures when they are needed most. With our extensive experience in this space, we are proud to continue supporting the US Government's efforts to protect public health and safety."
Kindeva recently partnered with Emervax to co-develop a vaccine delivery solution for viruses including mpox and yellow fever. Kindeva Drug Delivery was formerly known as 3M Drug Delivery Systems and rebranded itself in 2020, following its acquisition by Altaris Capital Partners in a deal valued at $650m.
