ATLANTA, July 27, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Micron Biomedical, a clinical-stage life science company developing needle-free, thermostable vaccines and therapeutics, today announced it has been awarded a $4.5 Million contract by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop the world’s first dissolvable microarray medical countermeasure against radiation injury.
The contract aims to enable rapid deployment of treatment for Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS), the illness that occurs after a person receives a high dose of radiation over a short period of time such as from a nuclear accident or radiological event, with the goal of improving national preparedness and response capabilities.
Under the contract, Micron Biomedical will incorporate Connext’s advanced TLR5 agonist (xempritolimod) into its dissolvable microarray technology, resulting in a novel medical countermeasure against radiation injury that is thermostable, administered by minimally-trained personnel or caregivers or self-administered, and discarded as sharps-free waste, thus enabling rapid deployment in emergency scenarios and addressing an unmet medical need for ARS treatment. “At a time when technological and AI advancements and an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape have heightened interest in national preparedness for radiation exposures, this contract represents an important recognition that protecting people from dangerous radiation requires medical countermeasures that can be deployed quickly and efficiently,” said Steven Damon, CEO of Micron Biomedical. “We appreciate NIAID’s support for Micron Biomedical and the openness to a paradigm shift in how radiation exposure medicine might be delivered in order to transform our resilience during public health and national security emergencies.”
Timely administration of medical countermeasures is critical following radiation exposure, as early intervention can significantly reduce the severity of radiation injury. Because even low-probability events can have catastrophic public health consequences, governments must ensure stockpiled medicine stays stable for years and can be easily distributed at scale under emergency conditions.
Micron Biomedical’s first-in-class dissolvable microarray platform provides a thermostable alternative that can be self-administered or administered by minimally trained personnel and caregivers, without injection, and disposed of as sharps-free waste to enable rapid deployment and administration in both civilian and military settings.
Connext is developing an advanced TLR5 agonist (xempritolimod) whose efficacy has been demonstrated in murine and nonhuman primate models of irradiation. A first in human study also demonstrated acceptable tolerability and activity in humans.
“Medical countermeasures are only effective if they can be rapidly deployed when and where they are needed,” said Dr. Sandeep Patel, former Director of BARDA DRIVe. “As preparedness leaders evaluate the next generation of biodefense and emergency response capabilities, increasing attention is being paid to technologies that reduce reliance on cold-chain logistics, trained personnel, and traditional healthcare infrastructure. Those considerations are just as important as the medicine itself.”
Micron Biomedical’s proprietary platform incorporates therapeutic agents into a dissolvable microarray “button” that, when pressed, painlessly delivers medications that dissolve in the uppermost layers of skin. The platform is designed to eliminate sharps waste, simplify administration, reduce reliance on trained personnel, and improve the practicality of stockpiling and distributing critical medicines during emergencies.
Successful clinical outcomes of the technology’s applications in self-administered seasonal influenza vaccine and nurse-administered measles-rubella vaccine in children have been published in The Lancet and presented throughout the world.
The NIAID-funded program builds upon Micron Biomedical’s growing portfolio of government-supported initiatives focused on improving access to critical medicines and strengthening preparedness for emerging health threats. The company has previously received support from organizations including CEPI and BARDA to advance needle-free, thermostable vaccines and therapeutics designed to improve global access and public health resilience. Last year, Micron Biomedical’s technology was investigated in the first CDC-sponsored clinical trial of a needle-free, dissolvable microarray vaccine to prevent rotavirus infections.
About the Contract.
The contract is for Micron Biomedical to develop “a novel medical countermeasure against radiation injury that will be thermostable, can be disposed of as sharps-free waste and will be administered by minimally-trained personnel or self-administered by the general population, thus enabling rapid deployment in emergency scenarios and addressing the unmet medical need for ARS treatment.”
Micron Biomedical’s contract will consist of a base period followed by two option periods with milestones including proof-of-concept (POC) animal studies, a pre-IND meeting with the FDA, a GLP toxicology study and preparation of a draft IND package.
This project has been funded in whole with Federal funds from the Radiation and Nuclear Countermeasures Program within the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. 75N93026C00009.
About Micron Biomedical
Micron Biomedical is the leader in dissolvable microarray-based, drug and vaccine administration technology with a growing pipeline of needle-free versions of previously injectable-only medicines. The company is a clinical-stage life science company, with a US manufacturing site in Georgia, on a rapid path to commercializing its proprietary, dissolvable, microarray technology.
Micron Biomedical’s technology is designed to improve access and achieve better health outcomes globally through injection-free, painless, and simple and/or self-administration of drugs and vaccines, and by eliminating or reducing the need for cold chain transport and storage, enhancing safety and efficacy, and improving patient compliance.
A 2026 Fast Company “Most Innovative Company,” Micron Biomedical partners with and/or receives funding from private and public pharmaceutical and biotech companies, the Gates Foundation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), PATH, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and the Georgia Research Alliance. For more information visit www.micronbiomedical.com
About Connext
Founded in 2017, Connext is a clinical-stage biotech company developing biological therapeutics (medicinal recombinant protein products) to improve quality of life. Based on recombinant TLR5 agonist technology, Connext is developing a therapeutic agent (first-in-class) to prevent side effects occurring during radiation and chemotherapy. Connext is also developing the world’s first recombinant collagenase treatment.
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This content is solely the responsibility of Micron Biomedical and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Shira Derasmo
Cuttlefish Communications
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