Watertown, Mass.-based Arsenal Medical received a $15.5 million Phase II contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to support its wound management product.
The foam-based product could help combat medics control hemorrhaging in the intact abdominal cavity and reduce battlefield mortality, a large percentage of which is caused by internal bleeding from abdominal injuries, according to a press release.
The new DARPA funding, which is intended to support the product’s late-stage development and a regulatory submission, brings Arsenal’s total DARPA awards to $22.5 million, the company said.
"The team of engineers and scientists at Arsenal Medical is excited to be working on one of the most difficult challenges in battlefield medicine," executive VP & COO Dr. James Barry said in prepared remarks. "There can be no more important goal for all of us who work in healthcare than to save lives. And working to help save the lives of our soldiers is exceptionally motivating."
The company said the $15.5 million contract is based on its pre-clinical work in Phase I. The pre-clinical data showed that minimally-invasive application of the product reduced blood loss and increased survival rate at 3 hours from 8% to 72%, according to the press release.
The company expects to develop its novel foam technology platform for civilian use in severe trauma, and in other complex clinical situations involving internal hemorrhage and repair, Arsenal said.