Sangart, Inc., a privately
held biopharmaceutical company focused on the research, development and
commercialization of blood substitutes, announced that it has
completed enrollment in a Phase III trial of its lead product Hemospan(R).
The completed study of 460 patients is one of two parallel Phase III
clinical trials being conducted at 36 academic medical centers in the
United Kingdom, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland and the Czech
Republic. The two randomized, placebo-controlled studies, which will enroll
a combined total of more than 800 elective orthopedic surgery patients, are
designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Hemospan in preventing and
treating hemodynamic instability, especially hypotension, or low blood
pressure, during surgery.
“We are pleased to have completed enrollment in this Phase III study,”
said Dr. Robert Winslow, Chairman, President and CEO of Sangart. “This
represents a major milestone for Sangart as we continue to gather evidence
of Hemospan’s potential to satisfy the significant and growing demand for a
safe and effective agent to improve oxygen transport in clinical settings
where blood is often transfused.”
Sangart also announced that enrollment in the second Phase III study is
progressing well and is expected to be completed in the near future.
No similar oxygen transport agents are currently on the market in
Europe or the United States. Earlier clinical studies indicate that
Hemospan’s novel oxygen delivery mechanism has the potential to provide a
safe and effective alternative to blood transfusions.
About Sangart
Sangart is a privately held San Diego-based biopharmaceutical company
focused on the research, development and commercialization of medical
products designed for use as alternatives to blood transfusions.
Dr. Robert Winslow, a world-renowned authority in the field of oxygen
transport, founded Sangart in 1998. In the two decades prior to founding
Sangart, Dr. Winslow and his colleagues studied and defined mechanisms of
oxygen transport by cell-free hemoglobin solutions, funded by competitive
grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of
Defense. The counterintuitive discoveries by Dr. Winslow’s group on the
effective action of oxygen transport agents have been patented and
published in numerous scientific articles. From this experience, Sangart’s
lead product, Hemospan, was designed using unique polyethylene glycol
conjugation to create a hemoglobin-based product that is intended to serve
as an alternative to donated blood.
The key breakthroughs in the development of Hemospan were the
understanding of the mechanisms of vasoconstriction and the development of
simplified production methods that are designed to make the final product
commercially viable. These breakthroughs laid the groundwork for Sangart’s
business concept of developing cost-effective oxygen carriers that can be
used in lieu of transfused red blood cells during episodes of temporary
blood loss, such as surgery or trauma.
To learn more about Sangart, please visit the company’s website at
sangart.
Sangart, Inc.
sangart