ExThera
Medical Corporation said today that data recently
generated by independent laboratories demonstrate that the company’s Seraph®
Microbind® Affinity Blood Filter
has the remarkable ability to remove a very broad range of pathogens and
toxins from whole blood.
Data on Seraph, which is designed to be part of a multi-pronged approach
to thwarting the epidemic of “nightmare bacteria” (pathogens that have
become resistant to even the most potent antibiotics) will be introduced
to critical care physicians at the 43rd Critical Care
Congress in San Francisco, Jan. 9-13. ExThera Medical will be located at
Booth #1019.
“Fortunately, antibiotic resistance does not appear to change the
way pathogens bind to the surface of cells during their invasion of the
body. We have invented and patented an adsorption/filtration technology
able to mimic these binding sites within a single-use device.
When infected blood is passed though the Seraph device and returned to
the patient, both drug-susceptible and drug-resistant pathogens
and their toxins bind to it and are thereby removed from the infected
blood,” says Robert S. (“Bob”) Ward, CEO of ExThera Medical.
“When the source of a patient’s bacteria is known and has been
eliminated, the use of Seraph, optionally combined with antibiotics, may
accelerate the clearance of blood-borne pathogens and toxins to a level
that can be handled by the patient’s own immune system,” Ward said.
Existing treatments of bacteremia, caused by, for example, S. aureus
or MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant S. Aureus) rely on antibiotics to
kill the bacteria. The Seraph® device
capitalizes on the affinity of the bacteria to attach to the
surface of the adsorption/filtration media within the disposable
device. That surface includes immobilized heparin, a natural
anticoagulant that has many other useful biological properties. Seraph®
is designed to be a biomimetic adjunct to antibiotic therapy that
reduces bacterial load and the duration of bacteremia, thereby
potentially preventing complications such as endocarditis,
osteomyelitis, and a systemic inflammatory response.
To date, independent laboratories have demonstrated that the following
pathogens and toxins are captured by Seraph when blood or serum is
passed through the device:
Drug-Resistant Bacteria:
MRSA; CRE – E.coli and K.
pneumoniae; ESBL – K. pneumoniae; VRE – E. faecalis.
Viruses, Fungi, and Toxins:
HSV-1, HSV-2; C. albicans;
Endotoxin; S. aureus α-hemolysin.
Gram-Positive Bacteria:
S. aureus; S. pneumoniae;
E. faecilis; E. faecium.
Gram-Negative Bacteria:
E.coli; K. pneumoniae; A.
baumannii; P. aeruginosa.
About ExThera Medical
Privately held ExThera Medical, based in Berkeley, Calif., is targeting
the clinical treatment of blood-borne diseases including bacteremia, as
well as the removal of harmful substances present in banked human blood.
CAUTION: ExThera Medical’s Seraph® device is not cleared by the FDA
for distribution in the United States.
Copyright Business Wire 2014