May 5, 2020, Baltimore, Md. – KaloCyte, Inc., a preclinical-stage healthcare biotechnology company developing a synthetic, bio-inspired red blood cell substitute for use in settings when stored red blood cells are not available, announced today that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded the company a $373,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I grant.
“This NIH SBIR grant will help our team advance KaloCyte’s lead product, ErythroMer™, to preclinical safety and efficacy testing in anticipation of human trials,” said KaloCyte president and CEO Elaine Haynes. “As blood loss is the leading cause of preventable death after trauma, we are grateful to have ongoing support from the NIH.” Haynes added that the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the tenuous nature of the blood supply system making KaloCyte’s mission to develop a substitute to address unmet needs even more critical.
ErythroMer is an artificial cell designed to mimic red blood cells. It is composed of purified human hemoglobin and small molecules encapsulated within a bio-mimetic lipid polymer shell made up of the same natural building blocks found in native cells. Just like a normal red blood cell, ErythroMer captures oxygen from the lungs and releases it to tissues. Importantly, since ErythroMer lacks the surface antigens that determine blood type, it is a universal option for patients of all blood types. Based on studies to date, ErythroMer exhibits minimal toxicity and does not trigger an immune response.
“With ErythroMer being the only lyophilized blood substitute product currently in development, it’s a game-changer,” said Dipanjan Pan, PhD, inventor, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of KaloCyte and Principal Investigator on the grant. “The NIH funding will continue our efforts of rapid reconstitution of the freeze-dried artificial red blood cells to provide a safe and effective substitute that can be stockpiled and stored long-term without refrigeration, and then quickly reconstituted with water when needed.”
The efforts under this grant build on previous work supported by a three-year award to KaloCyte in 2017, STTR Fast-Track Award R42HL135965 valued at nearly $2 million, from the NIH National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. KaloCyte was one of only 80 awardees for the 2018-2019 cohort of the NIH Commercialization Acceleration Program (CAP), which provides participants with individualized support towards accomplishing key commercialization goals.
About KaloCyte
KaloCyte, a preclinical-stage healthcare biotechnology company, was founded by a distinguished team of researchers in physiology, bioengineering, and trauma care. The company is poised to deliver ErythroMer, a freeze-dried, bio-inspired synthetic red blood cell, to market, with the expectation of starting human trials in two to three years. ErythroMer is envisioned for use when stored red blood cells are unavailable, undesirable or in short supply. KaloCyte, supported by nearly $6M in federal awards and investor funding, is a University of Maryland BioPark affiliate company located in Baltimore, Maryland. Learn more at www.kalocyte.com.
NIH Footnote
The research to be performed is supported by the the National Heart, Lung, And Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R43HL151073. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Media Contact
Darci Bartlett
KaloCyte, Inc.
410-706-7066