Aethlon Medical Inc. (OTC:AEMD) won a $6.8 million contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to develop a device to prevent combat-injured soldiers from developing sepsis.
The project will be built on the San Diego-based company’s Adapt blood filter to create an “extracorporeal blood purification device that selectively clears multiple sepsis-enabling particles from circulation to promote recovery and prevent sepsis,” according to a press release.
The deal also calls for the development of a new blood pumping strategy to reduce the need for patients to take anti-coagulants during treatment. The five-year contract will add $2 million to Aethlon’s coffers during its first year.
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“We are truly honored to receive this contract award and look forward to working with DARPA and other [dialysis-like therapeutics] team participants to advance this important therapeutic endeavor,” Aethlon chairman & CEO Jim Joyce said in prepared remarks. “The award also reinforces the expansive capabilities of our Adapt system, increases the breadth of our product pipeline, and transitions us from a development-stage to revenue-stage organization.”
It’s a bit of much-needed good news for Aethlon, which posted no sales last quarter.
“We have experienced continuing losses from operations, are in default on certain debt, have negative working capital of approximately $6,859,000, recurring losses from operations and a deficit accumulated during the development stage of approximately $51,058,000 at June 30, 2011, which among other matters, raises significant doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern,” according to the company’s latest earning report.
The company narrowed losses by 26 percent to $2.6 million, or a loss of 3 cents per diluted share, compared to $3.5 million, or 5 cents per diluted share in Q2 of 2010.
