The Hemopurifier
Aethlon Medical has developed a patented extracorporeal device, known as the Hemopurifier®, to address the treatment of viral conditions that are either resistant or evolve resistance to drug and vaccine therapies. The Hemopurifier® converges the established scientific principals of hollow-fiber dialysis and affinity chromatography with the discovery of affinity agents that selectively bind envelope viruses. The result is an affinity treatment cartridge that separates and captures circulating viruses, viral proteins, and toxins before the occurrence of cell and organ infection. The treatment goal is to reduce viral load burden without drug toxicity so that the patient's natural immunity can recover to wage an effective battle against viral infection. However, the mechanical nature of the Hemopurifier® also allows it to be deployed in conjunction with other therapies including drugs and vaccines, if available. An additional benefit stems from treatment access, as the Hemopurifier® has been designed for utilization in the global infrastructure of dialysis and continuous renal replacement machines already present in hospitals and clinics.
Scientific articles classify the Hemopurifier® to be both an immunotherapy and fusion inhibitor treatment. The Food And Drug Administration (FDA) has indicated that the Hemopurifier® will be treated as a Class III Medical Device in U.S. regulatory submissions. Pre-clinical human blood studies have documented the effectiveness of the Hemopurifier® in capturing HIV (The AIDS Virus), HCV (Hepatitis-C), and Orthopox Viruses related to human Smallpox. The mechanism of capture has been shown to be via the polysaccharide chains that reside on the surface glycoproteins of envelope viruses. Since the polysaccharide portions of the viral glycoproteins are attached via normal host cell (functions not under control of the virus), they are highly invariant. Moreover, the high abundance of polysaccharides allows viruses to escape immune surveillance. Thus, while many viral proteins are highly variable in their primary structure, the polysaccharide chains are nearly invariant, allowing for the capture of all strains and clades of many viruses. In fact, lectin derived affinity agents immobilized within the Hemopurifier® have been shown to inhibit the growth of all tested strains of HIV and can capture of inhibit the growth of other envelope viruses including SIV, FIV, HCV, Measles, Mumps, Influenza, Ebola, Marburg, and Orthopox viruses. Recent studies indicate that the Hemopurifier® affinity agent is also able to capture Dengue hemorrhagic fever virus. In conclusion, the Hemopurifier® has expansive therapeutic capabilities that address: global pandemics (HIV-AIDS); chronic infectious diseases (Hepatitis-C); naturally evolving pathogens; and pathogens weaponized for bioterrorism attacks against U.S. military and civilian populations.