Indianapolis life sciences company advances technology to improve blood volume measurements in critical care
February 3, 2015
INDIANAPOLIS – FAST BioMedical Inc. announces the conclusion of a Phase II clinical trial for a technology designed to provide timely, precise and convenient plasma volume and kidney function measurements. This is especially useful for patients undergoing major surgery and for the critically ill.
"The technology could allow physicians to determine plasma volume and kidney function more precisely and timely than the current standards of care," said Joe Muldoon, FAST BioMedical CEO. "Primary market research shows us that this could be a substantial game changer in critical care."
The American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association recommend assessing volume status in all heart failure patients. Even a 10 percent increase in blood volume has been directly linked to worse patient outcomes and longer hospital stays for heart failure patients. The association reports that a third of all ICU patients has an episode of blood volume resuscitation, and a quarter of all ICU patients suffer from acute kidney injury.
FAST BioMedical's patented technology provides plasma volume in 15 minutes, a screening kidney function level in 60 minutes and a measured kidney function in 120 minutes. Currently available methods include a combination of surrogate measurements that can be invasive, time-consuming and provide inconclusive results.
Muldoon added that the technology has potential to aid in other health care settings including:
*Organ transplant donor selection and management of anti-rejection drug dosing.
*Sepsis identification and management...
*Acute respiratory distress syndrome.
*Chronic kidney disease.
*Congestive heart failure.
The company has raised $20 million to date to advance and commercialize the innovation. The Purdue Foundry Investment Fund provided $200,000 to help advance the innovation as part of a matching program established in 2014 through a partnership between the Purdue Research Foundation and Cook Medical.
FAST BioMedical has completed development work with Indiana University School of Medicine, Purdue University and Rose-Hulman and has been financially supported by Elevate Ventures, Indiana Economic Development Corporation, BioCrossroads, VisionTech, Rose-Hulman Ventures and the National Institutes of Health.
About FAST BioMedical
FAST BioMedical is a private, Indianapolis-based, clinical stage medical technology company focusing on development and commercialization of a patented technology for quantifying Plasma Volume and Kidney Function in a clinically actionable time-frame. FAST BioMedical’ s technology has completed a Phase II clinical trial and could have a significant impact on the treatment of critically ill patients, those undergoing major surgery, and those at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD).
About Purdue Foundry
The Purdue Foundry is an entrepreneurship and commercialization hub in Discovery Park's Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship whose professionals help Purdue innovators create startups. The Purdue Foundry is managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, which received the 2014 Incubator Network of the Year by the National Business Incubation Association for its work in entrepreneurship. For more information about funding and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at foundry@prf.org
Purdue Research Foundation contact: Cynthia Sequin, (765) 588-3340, casequin@prf.org
Source: Erinn Reilly, ereilly@fastbiomedical.com
