The Rostock-based biotechnology company ARTCLINE today announced the publication of its novel purification method for the production of cell therapy products in the journal “TRANSFUSION”. The high-ranked journal is published by the Association of American Blood Banks.
The storage of cellular blood products, especially immune cells, is an enormous challenge in the medical field.
A team, consisting of developers from ARTCLINE and physicians from the University of Rostock and the Hannover Medical School, developed a novel treatment method for patients with bacterial sepsis using extracorporeal, immune cell-based apheresis based on immune cells of healthy blood donors.
Until now, the granulocyte concentrates used for this purpose could only be stored for 24 hours. Thanks to this novel purification method, published now in “Transfusion”, this shelf life can be at least tripled, which significantly simplifies clinical applicability.
The extracorporeal immune cell therapy ARTICE developed by ARTCLINE will use the concentrates produced with the new method in a therapeutic study in the second quarter of 2022. 120 patients in septic shock will be treated as part of a clinical study in Rostock, Greifswald, Magdeburg and Braunschweig. Septic shock is the most severe kind of infection and is still associated with a mortality rate of over 50%.
Dr. Jens Altrichter, Managing Director of ARTCLINE GmbH, commented: “We consider the publication of the method developed jointly with the Rostock University Medicine and the Hannover Medical School in the journal “Transfusion” as a great honor. Extending the storage life of these special immune cells is essential for our immune cell therapy, which enables us to start the clinical study now.”
ARTCLINE GmbH, founded in Rostock in 2007, develops innovative therapy methods for intensive care medicine. The current focus is on the development of the so-called ARTICE technology for the treatment of bacterial sepsis using immune cell-based apheresis.
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