Video: Joe Salvani Discusses Significance Of Cleveland BioLabs Radiation Antidote To Nuclear Crisis In Fukushima, Japan

NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwire) -- 03/16/11 -- Cleveland BioLabs is a biotechnology company focused on the development of innovative drugs to treat cancer and protect healthy tissues from radiation poisoning caused by a nuclear explosion or cancer treatment.

Japan's nuclear crisis has put Cleveland BioLabs lead drug, known as CBLB502, in the spotlight as the risks of a catastrophe are grave and growing with the effects of a nuclear meltdown. Although the company's radiation treatment is still in development, it has been fast-tracked by U.S. FDA and is expected to be approved in the U.S. in late 2012 or early 2013. CBLB502 has also been granted orphan status and is estimated to be years ahead of a drug being developed by Onconova called Ex-RAD.

Joe Salvani, an authority in biotechnology who began his career on Wall Street as Senior Vice President and Chemical Industry Analyst at Goldman Sachs, discussed the significance of Cleveland BioLabs drug as a radiation antidote and the near-term outlook for the company in an interview with Executive Video that can be watched here.

"Given the recent potential nuclear plant melt down at the Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan, it is my belief that Cleveland BioLabs will receive emergency use authorization from the appropriate US Governmental entities to allow the company to donate thousands of doses of CBLB502 to the Japanese authorities," said Mr. Salvani.

CBLB502 has proven to be safe in over 150 human beings and extremely efficacious as a radiation antidote in nearly 1,000 primates in testing. Given the state of emergency in Japan, it's possible that CBLB502 is the only drug that could help the Japanese security forces and power plant workers as they continue to either contain or clean up the six nuclear cores at the affected power plant. The clean-up effort is expected to take at least 12 months.

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