Aethlon Medical, Inc., announced the first use of Hemopurifier therapy on a patient infected with Ebola virus. The treatment was administered to a Ugandan doctor at the Frankfurt University Hospital in Germany. The patient, who is also a World Health Organization (WHO) worker, contracted the virus in Sierra Leone.
The Aethlon Hemopurifier is a first-in-class bio-filtration device that targets the rapid elimination of viruses and immunosuppressive proteins from the circulatory system of infected individuals. At present, no antiviral therapy or vaccine has proven to be effective against Ebola virus infection in humans. The largest ebola virus epidemic in history is now spreading on a global basis with more than 4,000 deaths being reported by the WHO.
"We thank the physicians in Frankfurt for allowing us the opportunity to treat this advanced-stage patient," stated Aethlon founder and CEO, Jim Joyce. "Details related to the patient's response to therapy will be disclosed once hospital officials deem it appropriate to report an update on the condition of this individual."
In the care of ebola-infected individuals, the Hemopurifier targets two unmet medical needs: the rapid elimination of circulating ebola to inhibit continued progeny virus replication and the direct targeting of shed glycoproteins that overwhelm the host immune response. The device can be deployed for use within the global infrastructure of dialysis and CRRT machines already located in hospitals and clinics.
Aethlon further disclosed that it is preparing to initiate US clinical studies of Hemopurifier therapy based on the United States Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval of an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) that was previously submitted by the company. The study will contribute safety data to advance the device as a broad-spectrum countermeasure against pandemic threats, including ebola and chronic viral pathogens such as HIV and Hepatitis C (HCV).
To date, Hemopurifier therapy has been successfully administered in approximately one hundred treatment experiences in health compromised HIV and HCV infected individuals. These studies were conducted at the Apollo Hospital, Fortis Hospital, Sigma New Life Hospital, and the Medanta Medicity Institute, all located in India. In vitro validation studies that demonstrated the ability of the Hemopurifier to capture Zaire and other strains of ebola virus were conducted by researchers at the United States Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Aethlon Medical creates medical devices that target unmet therapeutic needs in infectious disease, cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. The company's lead product is the Aethlon Hemopurifier, a first-in-class device that selectively targets the rapid elimination of circulating viruses and tumour-secreted exosomes that promote cancer progression.