ExThera
Medical announced today that the results of a preliminary study (“Cytokines
in blood from septic patients interact with surface immobilized heparin”)
of its proprietary medical device, Seraph™
extracorporeal affinity therapy, have been published in the current
issue of the Journal
of the American Society for Artificial Organs (Jan.-Feb. 2010).
“The removal of blood-borne pathogens by adsorption onto heparinized
surfaces such as Seraph may become a viable method for treating sepsis
patients at both the onset and advanced stage of the disease”
One very important clinical application of Seraph (Selective Removal
by Apheresis) is expected to be the treatment of sepsis
within intensive care units. Seraph consists of a specially designed
cartridge packed with a novel bioactive polymer substrate that acts as a
hemofilter. By incorporating immobilized heparin, the cartridge’s
high-surface-area can safely and selectively reduce cytokine levels and
remove certain pathogens from a patient’s blood before the blood is
(re)infused.
In the study conducted at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden,
when blood from septic patients was passed through a miniature version
of the Seraph cartridge, concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokine
tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were “significantly reduced from
initially very high levels.” In the control group, passage of blood from
septic patients over non-heparinized beads did not affect the TNF-α
levels. “We conclude that surface heparinization may be a useful
technique for selectively regulating the levels of heparin-binding
cytokines from whole blood. This may have implications for the treatment
of hyper-inflammatory conditions such as severe sepsis,” said principal
investigator Jonas Axelsson, M.D., Ph.D., of Karolinska
Institute’s Department of Renal Medicine.
“The removal of blood-borne pathogens by adsorption onto heparinized
surfaces such as Seraph may become a viable method for treating sepsis
patients at both the onset and advanced stage of the disease,” said George
Pitarra, President and Managing Director of Emergence LLC. “Although
a considerable amount of clinical work remains to be done, we are
extremely encouraged by the results of the Karolinska study.”