Aethlon Medical Will Perform Pre-Clinical
Studies to Explore Potential Synergies With its First-in-Class
Hemopurifier® Blood Filtration System
SAN
DIEGO, Feb. 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Aethlon
Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: AEMD), a medical therapeutic company focused
on developing products to treat cancer and life-threatening
infectious diseases, today announced that it entered into a
Materials Transfer Agreement (MTA) with Santersus AG, a
Zurich-London based, privately held therapeutic
medical device company, for Santersus' NucleoCapture and
HemoNucleoCapture devices.
Under the terms of the MTA, Santersus will supply Aethlon with
NucleoCapture and HemoNucleoCapture devices, designed to remove
Neutrophil Extracellular Traps (NETs), which are toxic to tissues
and organs and are implicated in the pathophysiology of cancer,
sepsis, autoimmune diseases, such as lupus, and ischemia
reperfusion injury in organ transplantation.
Aethlon will perform initial pre-clinical studies to examine the
NucleoCapture and HemoNucleoCapture devices, alone, and in
combination with Aethlon's Hemopurifier® -- a therapeutic blood
filtration system designed to bind and remove harmful exosomes and
life-threatening viruses from blood and other biological fluids --
to assess their ability to remove important targets in samples from
cancer patients, as well as from perfusates from kidneys that have
undergone machine perfusion as part of the renal transplantation
process.
"We look forward to initiating pre-clinical studies shortly, to
expand upon the data that Santersus has generated in sepsis and
liver and lung transplantation, and more importantly, to explore
potential synergies with our Hemopurifier, initially in oncology
and renal transplantation, as well as other potential indications,"
stated James Frakes, Interim Chief
Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Aethlon Medical.
"Our belief is that the NETs removed by the NucleoCapture and
HemoNucleoCapture devices, in combination with the clinical
mediators removed by our Hemopurifier, could have an additive or
synergistic effect in both the cancer and kidney transplant
settings. The signing of the MTA represents an important milestone
for both companies, as it is the first step toward a potential
future collaboration."
"Our collaboration with Aethlon has provided us with research
and development partners with expertise and capabilities to help
advance our NucleoCapture technology platform forward in
important fields, such as oncology and kidney transplantation. We
are excited to continue building on the progress we've made in
Santersus thus far and on taking the next steps forward in
executing on our plans to advance NucleoCapture technology,"
commented Scott Maguire, Chairman of
Santersus. "NETs are being increasingly recognized as an
important element in cancer progression and metastasis. We believe
extracorporeal removal of NETs using NucleoCapture either alone or
in combination with Hemopurifier technology might create a
transformational treatment option for patients receiving immune
checkpoint inhibitors or CAR T cell therapies."
About Santersus AG
Santersus AG is a clinical stage privately held
therapeutic apheresis Anglo-Swiss company. In clinical trials,
Santersus' flagship medical device, NucleoCapture, has demonstrated
the removal from patient blood of Neutrophil Extracellular Traps
(NETs). NETs are fibers of decondensed DNA decorated with cytotoxic
proteins that have been released from activated neutrophils. NETs
have been recognized as one of the major driving factors in the
development of sepsis, cancer, acute organ failure, autoimmune
flares, and neurodegeneration, including Alzheimer's disease.
NucleoCapture has been granted designation as a Breakthrough Device
by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA). NucleoCapture blood
purification technology is based on biocompatible, highly porous
polymer beads conjugated with proprietary human recombinant histone
H1.3 protein. Histone H1.3 protein was created in nature to act as
the ultimate human DNA binding and compacting protein with single
digit nanomolar DNA binding constants. As a result, in clinical
trials Santersus has demonstrated that a single pass of NETs
contaminated blood through the NucleoCapture device results in over
95% removal of NETs. Santersus has developed NucleoCapture for the
treatment of sepsis, primary graft dysfunction after lung
transplantation, reconditioning of extended criteria donor organs
for liver and lung transplantation and Alzheimer's disease.
Additional information can be found at www.Santersus.com
About Aethlon and the Hemopurifier®
Aethlon Medical is a medical therapeutic company focused on
developing the Hemopurifier, a clinical stage immunotherapeutic
device which is designed to combat cancer and life-threatening
viral infections and for use in organ transplantation. In human
studies, the Hemopurifier has demonstrated the removal of
life-threatening viruses and in pre-clinical studies, the
Hemopurifier has demonstrated the removal of harmful exosomes from
biological fluids, utilizing its proprietary lectin-based
technology. This action has potential applications in cancer, where
exosomes may promote immune suppression and metastasis, and in
life-threatening infectious diseases. The Hemopurifier is a U.S.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designated Breakthrough Device
indicated for the treatment of individuals with advanced or
metastatic cancer who are either unresponsive to or intolerant of
standard of care therapy, and with cancer types in which exosomes
have been shown to participate in the development or severity of
the disease. The Hemopurifier also holds an FDA Breakthrough Device
designation and an open Investigational Device Exemption (IDE)
application related to the treatment of life-threatening viruses
that are not addressed with approved therapies.
Additional information can be found at
www.AethlonMedical.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that involve
risks and uncertainties. Statements containing words such as "may,"
"believe," "anticipate," "expect," "intend," "plan," "project,"
"will," "projections," "estimate," "potentially" or similar
expressions constitute forward-looking statements. Such
forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks and
uncertainties and actual results may differ materially from the
results anticipated in the forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements are based upon Aethlon's current
expectations and involve assumptions that may never materialize or
may prove to be incorrect. Factors that may contribute to such
differences include, without limitation, the Company's ability to
successfully raise additional capital and to complete development
of the Hemopurifier and to successfully demonstrate the utility of
the Hemopurifier in cancer and infectious diseases; the Company's
ability to demonstrate synergies of the Hemopurifier with the
NucleoCapture and HemoNucleoCapture devices; the Company's
ability to enter into a future collaboration with Santersus; the
Company's ability to complete the internal binding
study of relevant extracellular vesicles; the Company's
ability to commence and manage its clinical trials; and other
potential risks. The foregoing list of risks and uncertainties is
illustrative, but is not exhaustive. Additional factors that could
cause results to differ materially from those anticipated in
forward-looking statements can be found under the caption "Risk
Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended March 31, 2023, and in the
Company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including its quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. All
forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak
only as of the date on which they were made. Except as may be
required by law, the Company does not intend, nor does it undertake
any duty, to update this information to reflect future events or
circumstances.
Company Contact:
Jim Frakes
Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer
Aethlon Medical, Inc.
Jfrakes@aethlonmedical.com
Investor Contact:
Susan Noonan
S.A. Noonan Communications, LLC
susan@sanoonan.com
917-513-5303
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SOURCE Aethlon Medical, Inc.
