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| Courtesy of ExThera Medica |
Chronic dialysis patients are particularly prone to bacterial infection in the bloodstream that can become deadly. So, it's not too surprising that major dialysis provider Fresenius Medical Care ($FMS) would be interested in backing a device to treat bacterial infections that can lead to sepsis.
Its venture arm that was established last year, Fresenius Medical Care Ventures, has led a $15.3 million Series B for ExThera Medical as a new investor with participation from existing investors. ExThera will use the cash to back European and U.S. clinical trials and approvals for its blood filter, which removes a broad range of sepsis-causing bacteria, viruses, toxins and pro-inflammatory cytokines from whole blood--which is subsequently returned to the patient.
"As the world's largest provider of blood purification products and services, we continually look for new technologies for the prevention and treatment of deadly infections for our chronic dialysis and acute care patients," said Dr. Olaf Schermeier, CEO for Global Research and Development at Fresenius Medical Care, in a statement.
Current sepsis treatment relies largely on antibiotics and supportive care. More than one million Americans annually get severe sepsis, with 28% to 50% of these cases resulting in deaths. That figure surpasses the U.S. death toll from prostate cancer, breast cancer and AIDS combined, notes the National Institutes of Health.
ExThera's Seraph Microbind Affinity Blood Filter is currently in a first-in-man clinical trial in Germany in dialysis patients infected with Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The first indication it will be applied to is in high-risk populations such as dialysis patients. But the Martinez, CA-based startup also sees potential in treatment for drug-resistant bacteria and purification of blood used at blood banks.
Dialysis patients are particularly prone to blood infections because of their routine vascular access, which offers a route for infection. The Seraph filter works by passing the blood over microspheres coated with molecular receptor sites that mimic the receptors on human cells that pathogens use in the body. Harmful pathogens are removed without adding anything to the blood and cells remain intact.
The absorption media uses chemically bound, immobilized heparin, but it could be configured with other supplemental adsorbents to remove other toxins and evolved pathogens. The filter's blood-contact surface is anti-thrombogenic and anti-inflammatory and is used in other medical devices and implants.
"ExThera's vision is to make life-threatening bloodstream infections unheard of in the future by providing clinicians with a broad-spectrum therapeutic option that allows treatment to begin quickly--even before pathogen identification," said ExThera CEO Robert Ward. "With mortality rates as high as 50% for certain bloodstream infections, the continued emergence of drug-resistant pathogens, and fewer anti-infective drugs in development, we see a critical need to address this growing global health issue with safe, accessible and cost-effective solutions."
- here is the announcement