Aethlon Medical achieves rapid capture of Zika virus
Staff Writer |
Aethlon Medical said that its researchers have completed in vitro studies that demonstrate the rapid capture of Zika virus by the Aethlon Hemopurifier.
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The Hemopurifier is a leading broad-spectrum treatment countermeasure against viral pathogens that are untreatable with or resistant to antiviral drug therapies. At present, the immunotherapeutic technology is being advanced through an FDA approved human feasibility study.
The Zika studies, which were conducted with small-scale versions of the Hemopurifier, demonstrated a 95% clearance of Zika virus from cell culture fluid in 5.5 hours and an approximate 50% clearance of Zika from human blood serum in 5 hours.
The studies were conducted with the Zika viral strain that has recently spread from South America to ravage Puerto Rico and likely responsible for the first wave of infections that have begun to occur in the United States.
Aethlon also disclosed that it entered into an agreement with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to validate the in vitro capture of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), which was discovered to be infectious to man in 2012 and has an approximate 30% mortality rate.
Like Zika virus, MERS-CoV is not addressed with a proven drug or vaccine. The agreement is based on the modification of a contract milestone underlying the Company's participation in DARPA's Dialysis-Like Therapeutics program.
Zika virus is the most recent of four significant arboviruses that have spread to the Western Hemisphere. It follows Dengue West Nile virus, and Chikungunya. As a result of the Zika study, the Hemopurifier has now demonstrated the capture of each of these four arboviruses.
Beyond Zika, Dengue, Chikungunya and West Nile virus, the Hemopurifier has also been validated to capture Monkey pox, which serves as models for human Smallpox infection.
Specific to pandemic influenza threats, the Hemopurifier has been validated to capture the H5N1 avian flu virus, H1N1 swine flu virus, and the reconstructed 1918 influenza virus, which represents a model for the strain of influenza that killed an estimated 50 million victims. ■