The device Velico Medical is developing under the contract would enable hospitals and blood centers to convert individual plasma units into single-use packages of powder. Each package also would include a unit of rehydration fluid, separated from the powder through a connector with a breakable plug. When the plasma is needed for transfusion, the two components can be mixed by breaking the plug to reconstitute the plasma in a matter of minutes.

 

Plasma, the liquid component of blood, is derived from whole blood that is donated at hospitals and blood centers.  Plasma contains many essential biological components, including certain proteins required for blood clotting.   Human plasma is given often as a first-line treatment to stop severe bleeding in trauma patients. By using a spray dry device, fresh plasma could be converted into the powder form that is easier to store, transport, and deploy than frozen plasma, the current state of the art plasma product.

 

Frozen plasma has logistical limitations that make it impractical for mass casualty care. For example, frozen plasma units of blood are burdensome to transport and prone to breakage, resulting in significant waste of a commodity that could be precious in a disaster.

 

The contract is part of a federal effort to develop medical products to protect Americans’ health and safety during a radiological or nuclear emergency, such as the detonation of a nuclear bomb.

 

"Innovative technologies such as spray drying of blood plasma may afford greater logistical flexibility and life cycle cost savings for everyday health care as well as disaster response,” said BARDA Director Robin Robinson, Ph.D.  BARDA is part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

 

Initially under the contract, the company will optimize and validate prototypes for the spray drying device and the single-use plasma drying chamber. The contract can be extended up to almost five years and a total of $38 million to conduct studies comparing the composition of spray dried plasma and frozen plasma, as well as efficacy and safety studies based on regulatory feedback from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

 

BARDA is seeking additional proposals for products that potentially could be used to treat illnesses and injuries caused by high levels of damaging radiation. BARDA is also interested in proposals for improved diagnostic tools that could measure an individual’s absorbed radiation dose following a nuclear denotation or radiation accident.  Proposals are accepted through the current Broad Agency Announcement, BARDA-CBRN-BAA-12-100-SOL-00011, on the Federal Business Opportunities website, www.fbo.gov.

 

BARDA provides a comprehensive integrated portfolio approach to the advanced research and development, innovation, acquisition, and manufacturing of vaccines, drugs, therapeutics, diagnostic tools, and non-pharmaceutical products for public health emergency threats.  These threats include chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear agents, pandemic influenza, and emerging infectious diseases.

 

HHS is the principal federal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves. To learn more about HHS, visit www.hhs.gov.
 
ASPR leads HHS in preparing the nation to respond to and recover from adverse health effects of emergencies, supporting communities’ ability to withstand adversity, strengthening health and response systems, and enhancing national health security. To learn more about ASPR and preparedness, response and recovery from the health impacts of disasters, visit the HHS public health and medical emergency website, www.phe.gov.

 

For more information about BARDA and the advanced research and development of medical countermeasures, visit  www.medicalcountermeasures.gov. Contract opportunities and awards are announced at www.fbo.gov.

 

# # #

Follow HHS on Twitter @HHSgov and sign up for HHS Email Updates