Aethlon Medical, Inc. today disclosed that researchers have initiated testing of its Hemopurifier(R) as a candidate treatment against the H1N1 Swine Flu Virus. The Hemopurifier(R) is the first-in-class medical device to selectively adsorb viruses and immunosuppressive toxins from the bloodstream.
The device has been designed to enhance the benefit of antiviral drug regimens, and it provides a therapeutic option against infectious viruses not addressed by drug and vaccine therapies.
The studies, which are testing the effectiveness of the Hemopurifier(R) to capture the H1N1 virus, are being conducted at laboratories approved by the United States Department of Health and Human Services to house and conduct research on pandemic strains of H1N1 virus. The Hemopurifier(R) has previously proven effective in capturing the reconstructed Spanish flu of 1918 virus (1918rv) and the H5N1 avian influenza virus (Bird Flu). The Hemopurifier(R) represents a promising strategy to clear infectious H1N1 swine flu from the bloodstream as the device selectively captures influenza viruses by hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) glycoproteins that coat the virus, even when influenza mutates to be resistant against drug and vaccine therapies.
The World Health Organization (WHO) now projects that two billion people, or one third of the world's population, will become infected by the virus before the end of the pandemic. Last week, WHO also reported that 1,154 swine flu victims have died since the virus emerged in April, including 338 deaths reported in the prior week alone. Additionally, six patients have recently been identified with viral strains resistant to treatment with Tamiflu, the stockpiled antiviral treatment for pandemic forms of influenza.