RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC / ACCESSWIRE / April 18, 2017 / Clinical Sensors, Inc. announced today that it was awarded two Small Business Research Grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Together, these grants provide over $1.5 million to support the company's continued development and demonstration of its point-of-care device that directly measures a patient's blood nitric oxide level within a few seconds. Nitric oxide is involved in the progression of sepsis, a life-threatening illness where early and rapid recognition is critical to accelerate the administration of life-saving care.
"These two awards will help us demonstrate the clinical impact of our technology, which is designed to directly measure nitric oxide and related metabolites from biological fluids," said Philippe Chemla, Ph.D., CEO at Clinical Sensors. "Our device requires a single blood sample at bedside to quickly deliver this information."
The $1.29 million Phase 2 STTR award extends this work, which includes a clinical study at the Jaycee Burn Center at UNC. Patients with severe burns often develop sepsis, leading to prolonged hospital stays, increased costs, and a higher risk of death.
"This NIH-supported study will use our device to follow 120 patients during their ICU stays and demonstrate the dynamic nature of nitric oxide in these patients," said Jon McDunn, Ph.D., Head of Research and Development at Clinical Sensors. "We are honored to have Dr. Bruce Cairns, Professor of Surgery and Director of the Jaycee Burn Unit, as co-Principal Investigator on the grant to lead the clinical study."
Clinical Sensors also won a $215,000 Phase 1 SBIR award to add the measurement of low molecular weight S-nitrosothiols to its sensor platform. S-nitrosothiols are endogenous compounds that store nitric oxide in the body and are a critical component of redox biology and physiologic homeostasis. Currently, there is not a reliable method to measure these compounds to better assess the role they play in sepsis and other diseases.
About Sepsis:
Sepsis, the body's overwhelming systemic response to infection, is an all-too-common occurrence in the modern hospital, with over 1.6 million patients diagnosed annually in the United States. One of the most critical factors driving patient outcomes is rapid recognition. For every hour that sepsis diagnosis is delayed, a patient's risk of death increases by over 7 percent. Delayed treatment is believed to play a significant role in many of the over 250,000 deaths that occur each year from sepsis.
About Clinical Sensors, Inc.
Clinical Sensors (www.clinicalsensors.com) is a development-stage company based in Research Triangle Park, N.C. committed to pioneering diagnostic devices that harness the physiologic properties of nitric oxide to improve patient management. Clinical Sensors has been awarded $3.8 million in NIH SBIR/STTR grants since 2014.
Research reported in this press release was supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under award numbers R42AI112064 and R43GM122152.
Disclaimer:
The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Contact:
Clinical Sensors, Inc.
Dr. Jon McDunn
[email protected]
919-241-3292
SOURCE: Clinical Sensors, Inc.