US Piles Up on Anti-Radiation Drug

In a shocking turn of events on Wednesday, the Department of Health and Human Services announced the purchase of Amgen’s anti-radiation drug Nplate to the tune of $290 million. President Putin’s threats of Armageddon, it seems, have finally begun to take their toll.

America is not the only country taking Russia’s threats seriously. Ukraine and other neighboring countries such as Poland have also begun to dish out iodine tablets in the wake of the continued attacks around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Amgen’s Nplate drug, however, is a ‘magic potion’ that promises to reduce the impact of nuclear contamination on the body.

This is not a test: preparing for nuclear war

“As part of long-standing, ongoing efforts to be better prepared to save lives following radiological and nuclear emergencies, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is purchasing a supply of the drug Nplate from Amgen USA Inc,” it was said. “Nplate is approved to treat blood cell injuries that accompany acute radiation syndrome (ARS) in adult and pediatric patients.”

This is the announcement the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services made on October 4th in preparation for a possible nuclear threat. It comes, however, upon the heels of America’s threat of “catastrophic consequences” should Russia’s President proceed upon an irreversible course.

Amgen’s drug Nplate is a drug typically used to treat radiological and nuclear emergencies. The company based in Thousand Oaks, California did not create it alone, however. They worked together with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infections Diseases. More recently, it played a major role in the acquisition of the COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic.

It is BARDA that has taken the initiative to purchase the drug using the authority it was granted under the 2004 Project Bioshield Act. The purpose is to protect U.S. citizens from ARS, which can get to and destroy human organs in seconds.  Moreover, Nplate reduces effects, such as bleeding, following exposure to radiation.

“This is the Enemy. Not the Russians, Not the Americans”

Considering the cost of nuclear war is human life, a motto on an anti-nuclear war poster depicting a nuclear explosion appropriately announces that: “This is the Enemy. Not the Russians. Not the Americans.” For this reason, the mission of organizations such as MEDACT, a merger of two groups, is to speak out against war. MEDACT was established in 1992 when two organizations, the Medical Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons (MCANW), and the Medical Association for the Prevention of War (MAPW), decided to merge.

Thus, whilst President Putin and his generals may seem concerned, the USA and its allies are shoring up for the unimaginable—the actual possibility of nuclear war.