Tissue Preservation

NGP. Why is it important to continue developing technologies of tissue preservation?
JF. Science is rapidly expanding in the 21^st Century, and tissue preservation in the broadest context encompasses so many different fields, such as organ preservation, cancer therapies, stem cell, regenerative medicine, fertility, composite tissue allograft and allograft transplantation. The reason tissue preservation affects so many fields is that, in its simplest form, tissue preservation is a process in which an aggregate of cells is kept alive. The ability to preserve tissue outside or away from the body in a state that mimics the body for extended periods of time is a technology that does not receive much thought and attention. If the preservation of tissues (and cells) can be enhanced, then we can produce better science more quickly.

NGP. How can LIFOR® support the recovery, transportation and reimplantation of kidneys, livers and hearts?
JF. Lifor® is an animal component free, nutrient-rich nanoparticle solution capable of supplying oxygen to cells and tissues. The advantages of Lifor® over presently approved solutions used in the organ preservation and transplantation field is that Lifor® preserves organs at room or elevated temperatures, thus mimicking in-vivo functionality. This allows for extended preservation time while the organ functions at a low metabolic rate.  All the current solutions work at hypothermic levels, which promote cell death. We have performed successful studies using Lifor® on heart, liver and kidney in both small and large animal models. Not only can we support the transplant industry by allowing more organs to be procured and transplanted due to extending the preservation time but we can increase the number of viable organs through the regenerative properties of Lifor®, so no organ donated goes unused. We have studies that prove Lifor® can regenerate an ischemic human kidney in approximately sixteen hours, making it suitable for transplantation while repairing cellular integrity.

NGP. What are the benefits of not using animal protein as a carrier?
JF. The use of animal proteins in biotech have gone on for generations, due to its ability to culture cells and promote them to survive, grow and divide. However, there are inherent issues, such as the laborious process that is undertaken to produce, limited sourcing, unpredictability of functionality from lot-to-lot, allergic reaction and contamination. FDA is tightening their oversight in the biotech field, and one area of concern is animal protein in the manufacturing process. Animal Component Free products will remove all of these issues and allow for unlimited sourcing and thus increased production of healthcare related products. It is hard to believe, but many vaccines are still created through the use of chicken embryo. Many large vaccine companies have invested millions of dollars to find an alternate source to produce vaccines with limited or no success. 

NGP. In 2008, you won the Frost & Sullivan Innovation Award. What affect will this have on your expansion in the industry?
JF. Having the Frost & Sullivan name connected with Lifeblood and our technology gives us instant credibility, as well as a validation on our technology. Prior to receiving this award, many experts in the industry have difficulty understanding and believing in our technology, since it has so many applications in diverse fields, such as cell culturing, cryopreservation without toxic DMSO, organ preservation, limb preservation, oxygen therapeutics and room temperature storage of cells and tissues. The Frost & Sullivan award also gives us notoriety within the biotech industry. One of our goals is to license the technology in such areas as vaccine manufacturing, stem cell, regenerative medicine, oncology and allograft processing, while we focus on organ and limb preservation and oxygen therapeutics. The award grabs the attention of a potential licensor that our technology is worth looking into. Since receiving the award we have had companies contacting us inquiring on our technology and possible collaborations and/or partnerships.

Joseph Fischer, President and CEO of Lifeblood Medical, Inc. has 35 years of pharmaceutical and biotech manufacturing and product development experience. In pursuing a solution to extending organ preservation, he founded Lifeblood Medical in 2001 and co-developed the patented technology, which has a myriad of applications beyond organ preservation.