Lifeline Scientific, Inc. (Lifeline) announces that its Cell & Tissue Systems (CTS) division has been awarded US federal government grants totalling $2.35 million which will be funded over the next two years. The main grant and a supporting award are for the development of improved preservation methods for cells, tissues and organs for transplantation. Studies will be done in collaboration with academic research centers in the US.
A third grant is for further development and testing of Lifeline’s proprietary LifePort Pancreas Transporter technology and related solutions for pancreas preservation for islet transplantation.
The target of the main grant is to further the company’s efforts in the development of solutions principally for liver preservation.
Today, liver preservation for transplantation has limitations with regard to preservation time and evaluation of livers prior to transplant, especially with livers from expanded criteria donors. Lifeline is hopeful that these studies can help lead to technology that provides longer storage periods with better quality and assessibility of the preserved tissue, potentially leading to increased availability of organs for transplant. Irreversible liver failure causes certain death unless a transplant can be obtained. There is a dramatic shortage of livers for transplant world wide, while official waiting lists made up of end-stage liver disease patients continue to grow substantially.
The grant to support further testing and development of the LifePort Pancreas Transporter technology and related solutions is aimed at advancing efforts around islet transplantation, an emerging promising treatment for qualified patients with Type 1 Diabetes. In recent studies, machine preservation of pancreas via LifePort has been shown to improve both the yield and viability of islets derived from pancreas compared with conventional static cold storage.
These grants will fund the bulk of the CTS division research efforts regarding organ, tissue, and cell preservation over the next 18-24 months.
David Kravitz, chief executive of Lifeline, said:
“While we are delighted with the initial clinical success of our core product, the Lifeport Kidney Transporter, these grants will enable Lifeline to advance important research and development of our LifePort technology platform to help improve the recovery and preservation of other organs and tissues for transplantation. We are proud of the achievements of the Company’s scientific leadership team and honoured by the recognition of their capabilities through these federal grant awards.”