CytoSorbents has been awarded a two-year, $999,070 Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) contract to support the development of a purification process for generating a “universal” blood plasma product that doesn’t require cross-matching. CytoSorbents will work with Penn State University on the project, which follows on from successful completion of a $150,000 Phase I STTR contract.
“With the exception of the relatively uncommon type AB, or universal, plasma, most plasma contains blood-type-specific antibodies and must be cross-matched with the intended recipient ahead of time or risk serious transfusion reactions,” stated Phillip Chan, M.D., Ph.D., CEO at CytoSorbents. “By reducing these blood-type-specific antibodies, our goal is to create a cost-effective, reliable, and expanded source of universal plasma that can be administered immediately, without blood typing, in a wide range of emergent and nonemergent situations.”
Located in New Jersey, CytoSorbents is focused on developing purification technologies based on highly porous, biocompatible polymer beads that can remove toxic substances from blood and other fluids. The firm’s flagship product CytoSorb® is approved in the European Union as an extracorporeal cytokine absorber for use in critical injuries, pancreatitis, and cancer immunotherapy, and after cardiac surgery to remove inflammatory mediators.
Commenting on the latest STTR award, Dr. Chan added, “This much appreciated nondilutive funding support is expected to rapidly advance the development of a second product in our HemoDefend™ line of technologies for the blood transfusion industry. Our other product is the HemoDefend packed red blood cell filter, which is expected to enter human clinical testing within the next year.
CytoSorbents’ HemoDefend blood filtration technology is in development for removing noninfectious contaminants in blood transfusion products. The firm’s pipeline also includes CytoSorb-XL, a next-generation CytoSorb technology that can remove lipopolysaccharide endotoxins in Gram-negative infections. The CytoSorbent pipeline in addition includes a potassium binder, and the ContraSorb purification technology for removing contrast dyes from blood. DrugSorb is in development for use in clearing blood of toxic drugs, for example, in cases of overdose, or following some forms of chemotherapy. The BetaSorb technology is being developed for use alongside standard dialysis in end-stage renal diseases patients to remove toxins that aren’t adequately cleared by the dialysis process.
In April, CytoSorbents was awarded a two-year, nearly $1M Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II contract to support the continued development of CytoSorb for removing fungal mycotoxins from blood.
