Opsonix to commercialise sepsis therapy

The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University has unveiled the launch of its startup company Opsonix to commercialise its pathogen-extracting sepsis therapy

The therapy uses a genetically engineered protein that is based on a naturally occurring human opsonin protein called mannose binding lectin (MBL).

The Wyss team led by Don Ingber and Michael Super fused the pathogen-binding portion of MBL to the Fc region of human immunoglobulin to yield the engineered FcMBL protein that can be used to cleanse blood.

To simplify the therapy for eventual clinical use, the Wyss team attached the pathogen-capturing FcMBL protein to the inner surface of hollow fibres similar to those contained in cartridges already approved by the FDA for dialysis therapy.

When tested in rats infected with pathogens or endotoxin, the FcMBL-coated cartridges synergised with commonly used broad-spectrum antibiotics, reducing the infectious pathogen and toxin loads and stabilising vital signs in the animals more effectively than antibiotics alone.

The Wyss Institute said that using FcMBL in cartridges had other important benefits, too: it sped up the pathogen extraction process and considerably reduced the amount of FcMBL protein needed for each individual treatment.

Wyss Institute founding director and team leader, Don Ingber, said: "We are developing an entirely new approach to treat sepsis that directly and quickly eliminates the pathogens and toxins that trigger the sepsis cascade. Even more importantly, we can accomplish this without having to first identify the infectious agent."