(Reuters) – French biotech company Medesis Pharma has requested defence funding to speed up the development of three drugs to treat nuclear contamination, it said on Tuesday, sending its shares up by nearly half of their value in early trading.
The company, whose stock rose 47%, said its products were relevant to the war in Ukraine, which has raised the risk of nuclear war, as well as to European plans to increase nuclear generation as countries seek to reduce reliance on Russian energy and secure carbon-free electricity.
“Three drugs are specifically intended for the treatment of large populations contaminated or irradiated after a civil or military nuclear accident,” the group said, as it announced a funding request to France’s Defence Innovation Agency (DIA).
“To date, there is no suitable treatment for a serious nuclear accident,” it added in a statement.
The drug programmes – which include a synthesised version of Prussian Blue – seek to treat plutonium and caesium contamination, as well as to prevent and treat respiratory and digestive inflammations caused by radiation.
President Emmanuel Macron, who is running for re-election this month, has announced plans for six new nuclear reactors and studies for further eight.
Sources told Reuters last week the European Union had agreed to stockpile equipment and medicine to protect against nuclear incidents, after France called in internal meetings for a bloc-wide plan to distribute potassium iodide tablets.
(Reporting by Sarah Morland; editing by Barbara Lewis)
