Aeolus Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced that the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) exercised $3 million in additional contract options under its advanced research and development contract for AEOL 10150. BARDA is a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that manages the advanced development and purchase of medical countermeasures for public health threats. Aeolus is developing its lead compound, AEOL 10150, as a treatment for the pulmonary syndrome of Acute Radiation Syndrome (Lung-ARS) and delayed effects of acute radiation exposure (DEARE) under a contract with BARDA worth up to $118 million.

The contract is designed to produce the data necessary for an approval under the FDA "Animal Rule" and for a pre-Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) filing. An approval or pre-EUA would allow the federal government to buy AEOL 10150 for the Strategic National Stockpile under the Pandemic All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act (PAHPRA). PAHPRA is designed to accelerate the research, development, purchase and availability of effective medical countermeasures for the Strategic National Stockpile.