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ARCHIVED - Department of National Defence / Hemosol Inc.
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FPTT Technology Transfer Award
Department of National Defence /
Hemosol Inc.
Successful transfer of novel blood substitute technology, Hemolink ™, and setting up a company to commercialize it
Ken Johnson
Defence Research and Development Branch, DND
Doug Laurie-Lean
Defence Research and Development Branch, DND
Manny Radomski
Defence and Civil Institute of Environmental Medicine, DND
Brian Sabiston
Defence and Civil Institute of Environmental Medicine, DND
Tony Magnin
Hemosol Inc.
Ed Rygiel
Hemosol Inc. & MDS Health Ventures Inc
With a critical need for ongoing and safe supplies of blood, the development of a blood substitute is in the top echelon of a long list of Canadian medically related discoveries. To create the required technology, Department of National Defence (DND) researchers isolated and purified hemoglobin by freeing it of contaminating antigenic red cell membranes. They then biochemically reconstructed the hemoglobin molecule to restore its oxygen transport capabilities, preserve its intravascular retention and rid it of all traces of cardiovascular and renal toxicity. Hemosol Inc, a biotechnology company formed in 1985 to commercialize the product, has since spent approximately $75 million on further research and development of Hemolink ™, the technology that resulted from DND efforts. Now in advanced Phase 2 clinical trials, the blood substitute is expected to reduce transfusion costs and adverse transfusion reactions while at the same time conserve whole blood resources and provide ample supplies of front-line resuscitation fluids at the scene of trauma. Awaiting regulatory approval of the product, Hemosol Inc., with 80 employees and annual expenditures of approximately $12 million, is in an expansionist mood. Having broadened its focus to include stem cell technology, the company is also planning to add a manufacturing plant to its assets, based on predictions that the company's 10-15 per cent of the total blood substitute market in North America alone will be worth approximately $500 million a year by 2005.
Sponsored by:
PricewaterhouseCooper
From left to right: Brian Sabiston, Department of National Defence; Manny Radomski, Department of National Defence; Jacques Lyrette, National Research Council; John Leggat, Department of National Defence (accepting on behalf of Ken Johnson and Doug Laurie-Lean); Tony Magnin, Hemosol Inc. (accepting on his own behalf and on that of Ed Rygiel, Hemosol Inc. & MDS Health Ventures Inc.); and Patrick Lafferty, PricewaterhouseCoopers (sponsor).
