Fort Collins biopharma company lands $20.3M defense contract

FORT COLLINS — A Fort Collins biopharma company has landed a $20.3 million federal contract to develop a wound-wash product that the Department of Defense and civil defense agencies can use to decontaminate chemical wounds.

Armis Biopharma Inc. received the contract from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency; the money will be used to further develop its proprietary Veriox DECON chemical warfare agent decontamination product for use in battlefield wounds.

“We’ve been working on this for quite a while,” said Ted Ziemann, chairman and CEO of Armis. “It’s important because, two things, with what’s happening in the world right now — developing technology to take care of chemical warfare agents is really a big deal. Also, civilian defense is interested in having a product that decontaminates chemical agents on the skin, and also in this case, in wounds.”

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While many of the world’s governments have been working since World War I to eliminate chemical agents in warfare, they’ve only been partially successful. Recent conflicts including the war in Ukraine have seen use of chemical agents. U.S. defense agencies recognize the risk to U.S. and allied soldiers and are seeking treatments that can be quickly applied in the field.

“The problem with chemical warfare agents is that they kill rapidly. You have to be able to counteract very quickly,” Ziemann said. Experts recommend treatment within two minutes of exposure.

The Armis Veriox technology was found to be effective in neutralizing chemical  warfare agents in two separate studies conducted by the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of  Chemical Defense.  

“We are excited for the opportunity to bring a new technology to decontaminate chemical warfare agents for application in both civilian and military markets. Our unique proprietary solution offers several advantages over existing decontamination products for both individual application and for mass casualty settings because it can be rapidly dispensed with standard liquid dispensing systems that will allow first responders to quickly decontaminate multiple individuals,” Ziemann said. 

The federal award is the second for Armis. In November 2020, the company received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop the product to provide first responders working on mass-casualty decontamination, an effective, cost-efficient, fast application to neutralize chemical warfare agents on skin. Ziemann said work on that application is now in its second phase.

For its battlefield application, the company will need to secure Food and Drug Administration approval. “To do that, the first approval we’ll go for is to use the product on skin. There’s a big difference between treating skin and wounds. Skin is not nearly as sensitive as a wound. Imagine using spray hand sanitizer on a cut; it burns,” Ziemann said to illustrate the challenge.

Strategically, receiving approval first for skin applications is helpful for the company, he said. 

“It gets our chemistry approved by the FDA for use on skin, which would open up doors for use with acne, foot fungus and other skin infections.

Ziemann anticipates that it will approach the FDA for approvals beginning late this year and hopes to have the product approved for use on skin by the end of 2024. Use of the product on open wounds will take longer; he anticipates approval in 2026.

The federal contract from the Department of Defense gives the company an advantage with the FDA, Ziemann said.

“The Department of Defense requires that the FDA clears these products. The one advantage is that we’ve been approved under PL115-92; this product is under that classification. It requires the FDA to work with the Department of Defense on an expedited basis.”

The contract award will enable Armis to increase staffing — “we can add another lab technician to our research organization, plus a PhD chemist and additional support for our lab and among regulatory personnel,” he said.

“The biggest issue is to assure a formulation that is safe to use and is compatible. The basic chemistry decontaminates a chemical warfare agent. The way it’s applied will be different (depending on circumstances.) We’ll develop a kit for both (skin and wound) applications. They have to be compatible with the intended use.” 

Once approved, Veriox DECON will join a family of products that the company produces, including antimicrobial surface disinfectant ArmiClenz created in June 2020, its FDA cleared VeriFixx Small Bone Implant in November 2020, ArmiCare hand sanitizer in 2021, ArmiVET Animal Wound Wash in 2021, ArmiGard cleanser for oral devices in 2022, and most recently its FDA cleared VeriCyn wound wash in May 2023.