Kuwait-based healthcare company introduces first FDA-approved radiation protective drug to GCC

Bader Sultan & Brothers Co. (BSBC), one of the Middle East's premier suppliers of healthcare products, medical equipment, pharmaceuticals and laboratory systems, have secured exclusive Gulf-wide distribution rights for IOSAT, the potassium iodide tablets considered to be the first line of defense against radioactive iodine released by a nuclear plant accident or any other type of nuclear disaster.

"The relevance of this product to Kuwait and in fact to the whole coastline of the Arabian Gulf and as far as 200 miles inland is the threat posed by regional nuclear power plants," BSBC General Manager Emad Al Zaben said in advance of Arab Health 2006, the largest multi-track medical congress in the world. BSBC has registered IOSAT with the Kuwaiti Ministry of Health, has stockpiles of the drug, and is currently evaluating the credentials of sub-agents in the Gulf nations.

"Any accidental or intentional damage to any of the nuclear power plants in the region will put hundreds of thousands if not millions of people on both sides of the Gulf at risk of developing radiation poisoning and only IOSAT can guard against the health dangers associated such a leak or meltdown," Al Zaben added.

IOSAT, manufactured and distributed by US-based Anbex Inc., works by saturating the thyroid gland with stable iodine, causing the gland to turn off its absorption mechanism and preventing the absorption of the radioactive iodine released as a waste product of nuclear fission in reactors and bombs.

IOSAT is the only full strength thyroid-blocking radiation protective sold to the general public with the approval of the US government's Food and Drug Administration agency.

The potential impact of radioactive iodine on human health via contaminated food, water or atmosphere can be staggering, eventually leading to cancer, thyroid damage, growth and birth defects or death. Children are particularly susceptible to thyroid cancer after being exposed.

The Chernobyl disaster proved to be one of the key litmus tests for the drug's efficacy. Authorities began mass distribution of potassium iodide within hours of the explosion, and areas where the drug was distributed showed no increase in thyroid cancer years later. In areas where the drug was not distributed, however, previously rare forms of juvenile thyroid cancer appeared at epidemic rates.

"With our appointment as sole and exclusive distributor, we are in the position to save hundreds and thousands of lives in the event of a disaster," a company spokesperson said. "Particularly in Kuwait, we have learned well the advantages of preparedness and BSBC is positioned to be the vanguard of protective medicine for the region."

BSBC, one of the more than 2,000 exhibitors at Arab Health 2006, can be found at Stand No. 7G37.