Synthetic Blood International, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, said the US Office of Naval Research has awarded a $1.3 million grant to Virginia Commonwealth University's Reanimation Engineering Shock Centre (VCURES) to study the treatment and prevention of decompression sickness (DCS) with Oxycyte.

The grant will fund the study called "Coordinated Follow-up Studies in the Treatment and Prevention of Decompression Illness and Venous Air Embolisms with Perfluorocarbon Emulsions."

VCURES has contracted Synthetic Blood to supply Oxycyte for use in these studies. Oxycyte is Synthetic Blood's proprietary perfluorocarbon (PFC) therapeutic oxygen carrier and blood substitute. Synthetic Blood has begun the process of manufacturing and shipping Oxycyte to VCURES

DCS occurs when a diver or submarine ascends to the water's surface too quickly, and nitrogen gas that was dissolved in blood forms bubbles that clog blood vessels that supply oxygen to the heart and central nervous system. This can result in massive stroke, paralysis and death, a company press release said.

"Oxycyte has proven capability to carry significantly more nitrogen and oxygen than plasma. Our planned DCS studies will build upon this current knowledge-base, and will focus on the use of mixtures of helium and oxygen to determine Oxycyte's effectiveness in carrying and eliminating nitrogen prior to emergency surfacing while preserving oxygen delivery to vital tissues. "These studies also will advance our understanding of the potential therapeutic benefits of Oxycyte for use in multiple states of critical illness and injury, including traumatic brain injury (TBI)," said Dr. Spiess, M.D., Virginia Commonwealth University Professor and vice-chairman of Anaesthesiology, chief of Cardiothoracic Anesthesia and director of the Research Department of Anaesthesiology.

Robert Larsen, interim president and CEO of Synthetic Blood, said, "We are pleased that the work by Dr. Spiess with Oxycyte has led the US Navy to this priority effort in making submarine operations safer for its personnel. Oxycyte has shown great promise as a safe and effective oxygen carrier and blood substitute, with many potential therapeutic applications. In addition to DCS, we are actively pursuing research with Oxycyte in TBI and continue to work with Dr. Spiess and VCURES to advance Oxycyte through later-stage clinical trials. In conjunction with VCURES, subject to US Food and Drug Administration approval, we are planning a 100- to 150-patient, double-blind, multi-centre, placebo-controlled phase IIb study to compare Oxycyte with present-day advanced therapies in TBI."

Synthetic Blood International is dedicated to commercialising innovative pharmaceuticals and medical devices in the field of oxygen therapeutics and continuous substrate monitoring. The company has under development a blood substitute and a liquid ventilation product, and an implantable glucose sensor.