Richmond pharmaceutical company Kaléo Inc. has been tapped by federal agencies to develop a countermeasure to nerve-agent poisoning.
A contract from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority — a first for Kaléo — calls on the company to develop a new auto-injector of antidote pralidoxime chloride, with a goal of reaching Food and Drug Administration approval within three years. If all options are picked up on the contract, Kaléo stands to land $27.7 million for the work.
The contract stems from Health and Human Services’ Chempack program, which aims to place nerve agent antidotes in secure locations overseen by local jurisdictions around the country to allow rapid response to a chemical incident.
Last year, Kaléo landed a contract from the Department of Defense that could be worth as much as $39 million over five years to develop an auto-injector that delivers atropine, which is used treat certain nerve agents and pesticide poisonings. It previously developed an auto-injected opioid countermeasure for the DOD. That product received FDA approval in 2022 and is currently utilized by the U.S. military and NATO countries.
Kaléo holds more than 200 patents related to its auto-injector technology, which enables delivery of larger volume and higher viscosity formulations while also controlling injection flow rates.
Kaléo is led by Chairman and CEO Michael Wells, who is also the founder and managing director of New Jersey’s Princeton Biopharma Capital Partners LLC. Wells created PBCP to provide growth capital to emerging health care and biopharma companies.
Funds managed by New York City's Marathon Asset Management purchased Kaléo for $310 million in 2021.