Hemopure Plays A Pivotal Role In A Pioneering Study Published in Nature

SOUDERTON, Pa., April 18, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Hemoglobin Oxygen Therapeutics LLC (HbO₂ Therapeutics), a world leader in oxygen-carrying solutions, today announces pioneering research conducted at Yale School of Medicine highlighting an innovative system that restores brain circulation and some cellular functions in pig brains four hours after death. Importantly, there was no evidence of global network activity or full-brain function such as awareness, perception or other higher-order brain functions during the experiments.

Published as the lead study in the April 2019 issue of Nature, the system called BrainEx involves three components including engineering a specific perfusion solution using Hemopure as a critical ingredient to supply oxygen to the tissue. BrainEx is designed to mimic pulsating blood flow (perfusion) at normal body temperature (37 degrees Celsius), and during a six-hour perfusion period, the researchers observed a reduction in cell death and evidence for the restoration of some cellular functions, including spontaneous synaptic activity.

The findings from the study entitled "Restoration of Brain Circulation and Cellular Function Hours Postmortem" indicate that the brain possesses a higher capacity for cellular restoration than was previously observed and that deterioration after cessation of blood flow may be a prolonged rather than rapid process. The researchers stated that further experiments with more extended perfusion periods are needed before broader applications of this system could be considered such as gaining new insights into brain disorders including stroke and Alzheimer's disease.

"We have spent six years diligently building the BrainEx technology platform, and HbO₂ Therapeutics has been a partner for four of those years" said the Principal Investigator, Nenad Sestan, MD, PhD, Professor of Neuroscience, Comparative Medicine, Genetics and Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine." A critical success factor is the ability to keep cerebral tissue viable, and Hemopure proved to be an essential ingredient in transferring and mobilizing oxygen to the brain.  We look forward to HbO₂ Therapeutics continued support as we explore longer perfusion studies to better understand the dynamics of cellular recovery following prolonged global ischemia," continued Professor Sestan.

"We are honored to be supporting this pioneering research, challenging the notion that widespread cell dell death is unavoidable, minutes or even hours after blood flow stops," said Zafiris Zafirelis, CEO of HbO₂ Therapeutics. "These results further validate recent preclinical and clinical data demonstrating the ability of Hemopure to perfuse organs such as kidney and liver showing that Hemopure could potentially replace packed red blood cells in organ transplantation."

About Hemoglobin Oxygen Therapeutics LLC   
HbO₂ Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a proprietary technology platform for oxygen-carrying solutions that increase the amount of oxygen transported throughout the body.

HbO₂ Therapeutics two lead programs are Oxyglobin^{® [}hemoglobin glutamer - 200 (bovine)] and Hemopure^® [hemoglobin glutamer - 250 (bovine)] indicated for veterinary and human use, respectively. 

Oxyglobin is the only oxygen-carrying solution approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to treat all cause canine anemia.

Hemopure is approved in South Africa to treat anemia in adult surgical patients. In the US, Hemopure is only available through the FDA expanded access program to qualifying patients for whom blood transfusion is not an option, and who have exhausted all other treatments. Blood transfusion may not be an option due to religious beliefs, or because no compatible blood is available for a patient needing a transfusion. 

Hemopure is also under development for other uses, including as a perfusion solution for other organs prior to transplantation including liver and kidney.

For more information, please visit www.hbo2therapeutics.com

Contact Details
Sunny Uberoi
Chief Communications Officer
917.747.2018  
[email protected]

SOURCE Hemoglobin Oxygen Therapeutics

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