Extended Release of Pyridostigmine Bromide for Effectively Combating Nerve Agent Exposure

Chemical warfare agents such as the lethal nerve agent soman are a major source of risk to military personnel. Currently, pyridostigmine bromide (PB) is the only FDA-approved pretreatment to counteract the effects of soman. The rationale behind PB administration is that it acts as a “temporary” inhibitor of AChE. This precludes nerve agents from irreversible inactivation of AChE, thereby mitigating the risks. To aid military personnel, improved and stable formulations of PB are required to withstand higher desert temperature with sustained and uniform release and less frequent dosing. To address this need, InnoSense LLC in collaboration with Oklahoma State University will develop a nanocellulose encapsulated PB (nCAP-PB) which can be used orally. Phase I efforts will include drug delivery system formulation, loading measurement, in vitro drug release profile characterization, stability measurements and in vivo characterization in mice. In Phase II, InnoSense will optimize the formulation, process and perform additional functionalization and scale up the prototype formulation.