Drugs from Amgen, others assessed by FDA as radiation treatments

(Reuters) – Drugs from Amgen Inc, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and Sanofi that boost white blood cells are being evaluated by U.S. regulators as treatments for radiation exposure caused by a nuclear attack or accident. The drugs, known as leukocyte growth factors, will be the subject of a Friday meeting of an advisory committee to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Treatment with Amgen’s Neupogen and Neulasta, Teva’s Tbo-filgrastim and Sanofi’s Leukine, may decrease death rates from radiation exposure, according to FDA staff documents released ahead of the meeting. …