The U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity awarded Princeton-based CytoSorbents Corp. a two-year, $1.98 million grant to further develop its HemoDefend-BGA adsorber, which – in short – can be used to create a “universal plasma.” 

This proprietary adsorption technology can remove more than 99% of anti-A and anti-B antibodies from plasma to create a “universal plasma” that could be administered to anyone, regardless of blood type. According to CytoSorbents, this technology would eliminate the need for blood typing, thereby speeding up emergency treatment in both civilian and military settings. 

Dr. Maryann Gruda, principal investigator and senior director of biology at CytoSorbents, said previous grants have allowed the company “to optimize the efficiency, robustness, and form factor of our HemoDefend-BGA adsorber.” 

Because of the new U.S. Army funding, CytoSorbents researchers can take “what we believe is a transformative technology into large animal testing, where we will evaluate the safety and efficacy of universal plasma generated by HemoDefend-BGA.” The adsorber is not yet approved in the U.S. or elsewhere.

“We are excited to begin this portion of the development program,” Gruda added. 

“Our HemoDefend-BGA program has the potential to address a global need for universal plasma in both civilian and combat casualty care,” Vincent Capponi, CytoSorbents president and chief operating officer, said in a statement. 

Capponi said the advancements have been made possible from more than $11 million in government contracts.  

“Once the pre-clinical study and requisite benchtop testing are successfully completed, we plan to file a U.S. FDA pre-submission package to pursue human clinical trials with the goal of bringing this life-saving technology to the market,” Capponi added.