Velico Medical said today that it raised another $19 million for the Frontline ODP spray-dried plasma product it’s developing.
Beverly, Mass.-base Velico said the $18.9 million contribution comes from the U.S. Health & Human Services Dept.’s Biomedical Advanced Research & Development Authority. It’s the third option under a contract with Velico that runs through November 2019, taking BARDA’s funding of the company to a total of $46.5 million.
Velico said the non-dilutive BARDA funding is slated for commercial development of a system to produce the plasma on demand at blood collection and processing centers.
“Despite advances in transfusion medicine and trauma resuscitation, massive blood loss remains a major cause of mortality, both in developed and developing countries. Velico’s breakthrough technology is poised to improve the survival rate of patients suffering from blood loss, extending the ‘golden hour’ of successful intervention to the pre-hospital setting” chief medical officer Dr. Mark Popovsky said in prepared remarks. “A dry plasma product is our greatest need right now, from field military operations to supporting emergency care in rural America to advancing the life-saving tool kit of Level I trauma centers. Plasma has been shown to have numerous beneficial effects in bleeding patients including stopping bleeding and supporting organ function but it is not currently widely available in the amounts that are needed and this problem is magnified in disaster situations.”
“We believe that BARDA’s approval of the next phase of the contract reflects recognition of Velico’s progress and the life-saving potential of this important technology. Our partnership with BARDA has been collaborative, constructive and has resulted in jointly developed solutions to a number of development challenges. We believe this collaboration has and will continue to deliver significant value for both parties as we finalize development and advance toward clinical trials,” added CEO Bill Skillman.
