Artificial blood one step closer to reality

A new federally funded grant for medical scientists at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) to develop and test a room temperature-stable whole blood product that can be used to transfuse battlefield wounded soldiers within 30 minutes I plan to lead a research program. It can injure and potentially save thousands of lives. UMSOM collaborates with the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy (UMSOP) and more than a dozen universities and biotechnology companies on his $46.4 million four-year research project managed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). management.

“We have put together an excellent team to develop a biosynthetic whole blood product that can be lyophilized for easy portability, storage and reconstitution,” said the principal investigator. Alan Doctor, MD, Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Center for Blood Oxygen Transport and Hemostasis (CBOTH) at UMSOM. “It’s designed for easy use by medical personnel at the site of an injury and functions like a traditional blood transfusion to stabilize a patient’s blood pressure or promote blood clotting, for example. .”

Alan Doctor, MD

To achieve this goal, the program employs sophisticated artificial intelligence, state-of-the-art experimental platforms, and multiple complementary animal models. The product will be tested for efficacy and safety in trauma patients with complex multiple injuries, including shock and traumatic brain injury.

Hemorrhage is the most common cause of viable traumatic death in both military and civilian settings. Whole blood transfusion remains the gold standard, but it presents logistical challenges, including dependence on available donors, the need for refrigerated storage, and a limited survival rate of approximately 40 days. It is not always possible to transport a patient who is bleeding to a hospital quickly. Therefore, there is an urgent need for artificial blood products that are easy to transport and have a long shelf life.

To carry out this project, Doctor formed a consortium of faculty members from UMSOM and UMSOP to develop artificial oxygen carrier (erythrocyte) components, which he pioneered in previous work, and drugs to optimize the combination. He worked on physics, computational modeling, and machine learning. Products also include synthetic platelets and freeze-dried plasma.

The product will consist of ErythroMer, an artificial blood product manufactured by KaloCyte, a company the doctor co-founded in 2016 with bioengineers and synthetic chemists. Dr. Dipanjan Pan, MScPhilip Spinella, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics and Diagnostic Radiological Medicine at UMSOM and Specialist in Military Transfusion Medicine at the University of Washington.

It also includes a synthetic platelet product developed by Anirban Sen Gupta, PhD at Case Western Reserve University, and a lyophilized plasma product manufactured by Telefex, both of which are being developed by Haima Therapeutics.

Doctor is a founding partner, chief scientific officer, and chairman of the board of KaloCyte and may benefit from this research. His interest in the company is vetted in accordance with the university’s conflict of interest policy to ensure objectivity of research.

“This highly complex project requires the use of advanced modeling, simulation and machine learning software systems to optimize the prototype and test its safety and efficacy in a complex trauma model with multiple complications. We have a system in place to support Joga Gobble, PhD, MBAProfessor of Practice, Science, and Health Outcomes Research, and Director of UMSOP’s Center for Translational Medicine.

The first phase of research integrates multiple bio-artificial and synthetic components to deliver oxygen, stop bleeding and replenish volume. These are important therapeutic functions of whole blood in resuscitation. In the second phase, the team will assess efficacy and safety in increasingly complex and realistic trauma models. This stage also includes developing strategies to stabilize the product for months under ambient climatic conditions in extreme environments.

Throughout both phases, the team also plans, develops and refines manufacturing methods. This leaves us with the production, scaling, packaging and quality controls that must be overcome to effectively move developed products into clinical trials and ultimately to achieve safe and efficient clinical utility. address real-world, practical challenges of

UMSOM and UMSOP are leading the effort, while the consortium includes researchers from Case Western Reserve University, Charles River Labs, Latham Biopharm Group, Ohio State University, Pumas-AI Inc., Southwest Labs, and the University of California. Leading scientists and free experts are also included. San Diego, University of Pittsburgh, Oregon Health Sciences University, University of Texas at Austin, University of North Carolina, companies developing biosynthetic blood components themselves, Haima Therapeutics, KaloCyte, Teleflex.

“Approximately 20,000 Americans bleed to death each year before reaching the hospital. Blood transfusions at the point of injury are required to stabilize them and limit other organ damage,” he said. rice field. UMSOM Dean Mark T. Gladwin, MDJohn Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor, Vice President for Medical Affairs, University of Maryland Baltimore. It predicts an effect, which was not possible 10 years ago.”

Fieldable Solutions for Bleeding Using DARPA’s Bioartificial Resuscitation Products (FSHARP) Program are field-deployable, storage-stable solutions that can be used to resuscitate trauma patients when donated blood products are not available. The aim is to develop a whole blood equivalent. Other subcontractors may join the consortium pending the exercise of additional options at FSHARP’s discretion.

(Videos of an interview with the doctor and the state of the laboratory have been released to the media.)