NRx Pharmaceuticals to Work with Cardinal Health to Ensure Efficient Distribution of Potential Therapies

NRx Pharmaceuticals announced today it has signed an agreement with Cardinal Health to provide third party logistics and distribution of ZYESAMI™ upon the potential Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In May, NRx submitted an application for EUA to the FDA for ZYESAMI™ (aviptadil) for patients suffering from Critical COVID-19 with respiratory failure.

"This partnership creates an efficient and highly flexible logistics and distribution model for NRx.  Cardinal Health's expertise will enable ZYESAMI to quickly reach patients in the intensive care units, as limiting the time to treatment is crucial," said Robert Besthof, Head of Operations and Chief Commercial Officer of NRx.  "This also allows NRx to continue focusing on answering requests from the FDA in support of our application for Emergency Use Authorization for ZYESAMI."

Cardinal Health Specialty Pharmaceutical Distribution will serve as the exclusive distributor for ZYESAMI, providing broad access to hospitals for this needed medicine upon FDA authorization. With one of the largest healthcare supply chains, Cardinal Health services more than 90% of hospitals in the U.S., and has more than 20 years of experience supporting rapid delivery of lifesaving medicines.

Additionally, Cardinal Health's Third-Party Logistics Services (3PL) will support the warehousing and distribution, full order to cash, and necessary title model services.

"As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, so does the need for more innovative, effective and FDA-approved therapies for critically-ill patients with respiratory failure," said Marc DeLorenzo, Senior Vice President of Strategic Sourcing at Cardinal Health. "Cardinal Health is pleased to ensure that COVID-19 patients get access to treatment in a timely and efficient manner."

About NRx Pharmaceuticals
NRx Pharmaceuticals draws upon more than 300 years of collective, scientific and drug-development experience to bring improved health to patients. Its investigational product, ZYESAMI™ (aviptadil) for patients with COVID-19, has been granted Fast Track designation by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is currently undergoing phase 3 trials funded by the US National Institutes of Health, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority part of the US Department of Health and Human Services, and the Medical Countermeasures program, part of the US Department of Defense. The FDA has additionally granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation, a Special Protocol Agreement, and a Biomarker Letter of Support to NRx for NRX-101, an investigational medicine to treat suicidal bipolar depression. NRX-101 is currently in Phase 3 trials, with readouts expected in 2022. In July 2021, NRx was awarded an exclusive worldwide license to develop and commercialize the BriLife (VSV-ΔG) COVID-19 vaccine developed by the Israel Institute of Biological Research.

About Cardinal Health
Cardinal Health is a distributor of pharmaceuticals, a global manufacturer and distributor of medical and laboratory products, and a provider of performance and data solutions for health care facilities. With 50 years in business, operations in more than 35 countries and approximately 44,000 employees globally, Cardinal Health is essential to care. Information about Cardinal Health is available at cardinalhealth.com.