A plasma volume expander may sound like something plucked from the pages of a science fiction novel, but to a trio of
University of Toledo researchers working on the innovative lifesaving drug, it's very real.
After working with a patient in 1999 whose blood pressure was critically unstable as plasma seeped out of her blood vessels, frustrated UT doctors Joseph Shapiro and Ragheb Assaly sought out a treatment.
They teamed up with UT biochemist J. David Dignam and found a solution in their plasma volume expander, Pegylated albumin -- or PEG-Alb as it is known as in the biotech biz.
Toledo-based ADS Biotechnology was born.
The researchers created a molecule similar to the native albumin already present in the blood, but with a larger diameter to prevent leakage into vital organs that can cause serious injury or death.
PEG-Alb is the only known treatment for CLS -- a biomedical stat that is bound to drum up some serious attention� and cash.
The
UT college of medicine -- where Shapiro is the department chair and Assaly is a pulmonary-critical care specialist -- has contributed $1 million. The northwest Ohio-based Rocket Ventures Ignite! Grant was for $50,000, then Rocket Ventures gave a $250,000 investment courtesy of the Third Frontier Program. The U.S. Department of Defense committed $200,000.
Mary Shapiro, chief financial officer of ADS Biotechnology, says PEG-Alb could be a crucial advancement for military medicine as a resuscitation fluid on the front lines.
The firm is now working to set up clinical trials in hopes of marketing PEG-Alb in the next three to five years.
Source: Mary Shapiro
Writer: Colin McEwen