SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aethlon Medical, Inc., (OTCBB:AEMD) disclosed today that it has submitted a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) related to the treatment of Ovarian Cancer. The grant application entitled “Affinity Capture of Immunosuppressive Particles from Human Sera” proposes to study the utility of the Aethlon Hemopurifier® to selectively concentrate and remove circulating exosomes produced by Ovarian tumors. Exosomes are particles released by solid tumors, lymphomas, and leukemia. They induce T-cell apoptosis (programmed cell death), and block T-cell signaling, proliferation, and cytokine production. High concentrations of circulating exosomes correlate with reduced T-cell production and tumor progression in cancer patients. A treatment able to inhibit exosome production would address a significant unmet medical need in the $45 billion cancer therapy market, as a reduction of circulating exosomes would likely increase patient survival by reversing immune suppression, thus increasing patient responsiveness to immunotherapy, chemotherapy, and other treatment strategies. The grant submission is the second in a series of cancer related grants that Aethlon plans to file by the end of calendar year 2007. There is no assurance Aethlon will derive grant income to augment the funding of this research initiative. Initial comments to the grant are expected in December. Phase II of Aethlon’s study proposal would be the development of Hemopurifier® cartridges for clinical use.
