A pharmaceutical composition is provided for administration prior to or after exposure to ionizing radiation for reducing toxic effects of the radiation in a subject. An effective amount of the pharmaceutical composition provided comprising an effective amount of at least one radioprotective &alpha；, &bgr； unsaturated aryl sulfone, and at least one component selected from the group consisting of a) at least one water soluble polymer in an amount between about 0.5% and about 90% w/v, b) at least one chemically modified cyclodextrin in an amount between about 20% and about 60% w/v, and c) DMA in an amount between about 10% and about 50% w/v.
