On Monday, Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp ( TNXP ) was awarded an Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) with a potential value of up to $34 million over five years by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), an agency within the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).

According to data from Benzinga Pro, the shares are trading on a strong session volume of 5.74 million and have a market cap of $4.9 million.

The contract’s objective is to develop small-molecule broad-spectrum antiviral agents for the prevention or treatment of infections, improving the medical readiness of military personnel in biological threat environments.

Tonix’s program will focus on optimizing and developing its TNX-4200 program to develop an orally available CD45 antagonist with broad-spectrum efficacy against a range of viral families through preclinical evaluation.

The program is expected to establish physicochemical properties, pharmacokinetics, and safety attributes to support an Investigational New Drug submission and fund a first-in-human Phase 1 clinical study.

“Through our agreement with DTRA, our broad-spectrum antiviral research program will address the DoD’s goal of protecting U.S. Joint Forces in the event biological weapons are introduced onto the battlefield,” said Seth Lederman, President and CEO of Tonix.

“The DoD announced in December 2022 that they are moving beyond a ‘one bug, one drug’ approach and are seeking broad-spectrum drugs since one cannot predict which or how many viruses may be deployed. This funding provides important validation for our ongoing research and current in-house capabilities and will enable Tonix to advance its antiviral discovery program.”

This program has the potential to reduce viral load and allow the adaptive immune system to alert the other arms of the immune system to mount a protective response.

Tonix plans to leverage previous research on phosphatase inhibitors, specifically compounds that target CD45, to optimize lead compounds for therapeutic intervention of biothreat agents and provide the government with a complete and cost-effective solution for a broad-spectrum medical countermeasure.

Tonix’s premise is that partial inhibition of CD45 will provide optimal antiviral protection while requiring lower plasma drug concentrations, a lower dose, and a better safety profile.

Tonix will utilize its research laboratory capabilities at its research and development center in Frederick, Md., as well as experienced personnel in-house.

Price Action: TNXP shares are up 3.34% at $0.72 at last check Monday. During premarket trading, shares reached as high as 0.91.

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