HemoCleanse, Inc. Receives $1.0 million NIAID Bioterrorism Grant

Funding will Support the Company's Development of a Device to Treat Septicemia Caused by Bacterial Bioterrorism

Tuesday, February 17, 2004 7:52 AM EST - - - (Lafayette, Indiana) The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has approved a $1 million, two-year grant submitted by HemoCleanse, Inc. to develop a novel plasmapheresis device designed specifically to treat victims of bioterrorism-induced sepsis. Bacterial bioterrorism agents cause infections that lead to systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and septic shock often resulting in multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS). An effective therapy for SIRS and MODS would spare many of the victims of bioterrorism from a tragic death.

“Receiving this grant is a major accomplishment for Dr. Ash and his R&D team who have invested many years developing sorbent-based therapies for treating organ failure associated with kidney and liver disease. This funding will provide the resources to take our work to the next level by developing a device capable of treating a patient's plasma. When completed, this technology will provide a multi-treatment platform that could help patients suffering from sepsis and autoimmune diseases such as lupus,” says Mr. Robert B. Truitt, co-founder, President and CEO of HemoCleanse. “HemoCleanse Technologies, LLC, a subsidiary of HemoCleanse, owns the commercial rights to all of HemoCleanse's extracorporeal technologies except for the treatment of kidney failure, and will be the beneficiary of this product development effort."

Dr. Stephen R. Ash, co-founder, Chairman and Director, Research and Development adds, “Sepsis, or infection in the blood, often leads to SIRS and MODS through a very complicated sequence of biochemical inflammatory responses in the body that can result in death. Based on data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control, there are an estimated 750,000 hospitalized sepsis patients each year in the U.S., of which nearly 400,000 require intensive care. In that latter group, the mortality is in excess of 50%. Based on those statistics, bioterrorism-induced sepsis on any scale would be a medical disaster. To date, after much research and many clinical trials of drugs targeting individual sepsis mediators, no anti-inflammatory agent has been clinically proven to treat sepsis on a broad basis. Our approach is to modulate the cascade of mediators providing time for antibiotics to accomplish their work.

"A few years ago in a small clinical trial of this technology, we were able to show that modulation can bridge patients to recovery," continued Dr. Ash. "So we are excited to have the opportunity to develop a practical next generation device capable of both treating bioterrorism-induced sepsis, and sepsis occurring in many hospitalized patients around the world.”

HemoCleanse, Inc. was co-founded by Truitt and Ash in 1989. Dr. Ash, a practicing Nephrologist with the Arnett Clinic in Lafayette, Indiana, is a world-recognized researcher and patent-holder in extracorporeal devices, sorbent chemistry, and vascular and peritoneal access devices. HemoCleanse and HemoCleanse Technologies are both located in Lafayette, Indiana at the INOK Business Center.

Contact: Robert B. Truitt, President and CEO

This press release contains forward-looking statements, which if not based on historical facts, involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from the results or events stated in the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, certain events not within the Company's control.

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