CARLSBAD, Calif., Jan. 18, 2016/PRNewswire/ -- DRP Biomedical, Inc., announced today that it has changed its corporate name to HemaFlo Therapeutics, Inc., to highlight the company’s mission to develop therapies for diseases characterized by poor blood flow or ischemia.
“DRP is an acronym for our core Drag Reducing Polymer technology,” said Michael A. Martino, HemaFlo’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “We believe this technology has broad applicability in a number of acute and chronic disease states that are associated with decreased tissue perfusion due to reduced blood flow. The HemaFlo Therapeutics name more completely reflects our broader mission to develop therapies for these diseases, and DRP will continue to be used to describe our technology.”
The initial application of HemaFlo’s DRP technology is reflected in NephroFlow, the company’s lead product in preclinical development to treat acute kidney injury (AKI), a sudden loss of kidney function associated with decreased blood flow to the kidneys and one of the most common and severe complications observed in hospitalized patients.
Dr. Dale Peterson, HemaFlo’s Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, explained, “Existing preclinical data show dramatic effects of drag reducing polymers, and HemaFlo’s early work shows promise in treating AKI.”
About HemaFlo Therapeutics
HemaFlo Therapeutics is a private company founded to develop a platform of Drag Reducing Polymers (DRPs) that have applicability in a number of acute and chronic disease states that are associated with decreased tissue perfusion due to reduced blood flow. DRPs can be given intravenously and act mechanically to reduce the friction (or drag) in flowing blood and to stimulate the dilation of blood vessels. This activity results in improved blood flow without a corresponding increase in blood pressure, which in turn improves tissue perfusion.
About Acute Kidney Injury
Acute kidney injury (AKI) is an abrupt loss of kidney function that typically occurs within seven days of an inpatient or outpatient procedure and is one of the most severe complications observed in hospitalized patients. Damage of the kidney tissue is often caused by decreased blood flow (ischemia) due to surgery, vasoconstrictive drugs, sepsis, dehydration or imaging contrast agents. AKI may lead to a number of even more severe complications, including metabolic acidosis, effects on other organ systems (cardiovascular) and death. There were an estimated seven million cases of AKI in the US in-patient hospital population in 2012. The literature suggests that incidence has long been under-reported but study estimates range from 20 to 25% of total hospitalizations. Most strikingly, almost half of the reported cases were characterized as “severe AKI” with a 24% mortality rate compared to 2% for patients without AKI. Additionally, patients who have experienced any level of AKI have an increased risk of heart attacks and chronic kidney disease, which is not curable and represents a lifetime sentence to a dialysis clinic.
Contact:
Michael A. Martino
HemaFlo Therapeutics, Inc.
Phone: (760) 607-6460
mmartino@hemaflo.com
www.hemaflo.com
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SOURCE DRP Biomedical, Inc.; HemaFlo Therapeutics
