AEMD: Effectiveness of Hemopurifier on COVID-19 Variants In Vitro Indicates Device's Potential Range

By M. Marin

NASDAQ:AEMD

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Growing Database Supporting Hemopurifier's Ability to Treat COVID-19

Aethlon Medical's AEMD lead asset, the Aethlon Hemopurifier®, produced positive results in binding seven variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in vitro. AEMD's CEO Dr. Charles J. Fisher Jr. and the company's Chief Medical Officer Dr. Steven LaRosa contributed to an article¹ laying out data showing that the Hemopurifier's GNA affinity resin successfully was able to bind seven clinically relevant SARS-CoV-2 variants, including the Delta and Omicron variants that have been responsible for recent increases in cases in multiple regions, in vitro.

The Hemopurifier was able to leverage its GNA affinity resin to secure and remove a majority of harmful material of the virus variants. The Hemopurifier is an extracorporeal (i.e. outside of the body) blood filtration device that is designed to selectively remove harmful particles from the circulatory system, using lectin affinity agents. The GNA affinity resin is a key component of the Hemopurifier®. GNA is a plant lectin that attaches to alpha 1,3 mannose sugar units in enveloped viruses. As blood flows through the Hemopurifier, the device uses the lectin affinity agents to trap viruses and other target pathogens using the capability of the lectins to specifically bind to the unique high mannose structures of viral glycoproteins. This process, in turn, removes the virus and harmful viral glycoproteins from the body while allowing healthy cells to pass through and back into the circulatory system.

The recent in vitro study supports AEMD's hypothesis that the Hemopurifier's viral binding would be unaffected by spike protein mutations. In other words, the company believed the Hemopurifier would be effective treating most, if not all, COVID-19 virus mutations because the mutations all contain mannose structures which the Hemopurifier can bind and remove without harming healthy cells.

Viral capture efficiency 53% to 89% for all variants tested; 70%+ in four

When the percent decrease in viral solution was compared with the control sample, the viral capture efficiency with the GNA affinity resin ranged from 53% to 89% for all variants tested. For four of the seven variants tested, the resin columns eliminated more than 70% of the SARS-COV-2 load in a single cycle and more than 69% for six of the seven. The company believes this supports its hypothesis about the versatility of the Hemopurifier in treating variations of COVID-19 and other viruses.

With several COVID-19 variants emerging over the past 2+ years of the pandemic, the Hemopurifier's ability to treat mutations is important. A key takeaway is that the device can treat existing and future mutations. This has positive implications, we believe, with much of the global population still at risk for severe infection, reflecting many factors, including pre-conditions and vaccine hesitancy, among others.

Separately, the company is currently conducting clinical studies evaluating the benefits of the device in treating severe cases of COVID-19, studying the impact of the Hemopurifier on patients with head and neck cancer and also conducting a study of the Hemopurifier in COVID-19 patients in India. Management believes the device can be used to affect improved outcomes in a number of cancers, given the Hemopurifier's demonstrated ability to remove exosomes.

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1. Removal of Clinically Relevant SARS-CoV-2 Variants by An Affinity Resin Containing Galanthus nivalis Agglutinin, published in bioRxiv