Plasma Tech Biopharmaceuticals recently developed new, innovative methods to extract plasma proteins from pooled human plasma samples in order to alleviate the shortage of available plasma-based therapies. Plasma is a critical component of therapies that treat a wide range of diseases, including hemophilia, venous thrombo-embolism, myocardial infarction, graft vs host disease, type 1 and 2 diabetes, those receiving organ transplants and COPD.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder, also known as COPD, is most commonly caused by smoking, tobacco intake or exposure to air pollutants. However, genetic defects can also lead to severe complications in the lungs and liver, leading to shortness of breath, wheezing, bronchitis, emphysema, infections and congestion — all of which are included as part of COPD. The most common genetic defect among these is the Alpha-1-Antitrypsin (AAT) Deficiency (AATD), which is also a plasma protein (SERPINA1 mutated to produce a defective AAT gene). The main function of AAT is to protect the lungs and liver from inflammation and infections. As a result, an AAT deficiency causes several hepato-pulmonary complications, COPD being one of the most serious.

Currently, the overall market for drugs obtained from blood plasma fractionation and extraction is greater than $15 billion with an annual growth rate of 10%, but there has been very little innovation in terms of plasma extraction techniques. The possible shortage of resources in the future has been a topic of discussion for quite some time now. In response to this growing need, PlasmaTech Biopharmaceuticals, together with its newly appointed Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), has developed a novel patented technique to help overcome the issue, leading to a higher yield of quality plasma proteins.

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The Cohn Cold fractionation process had been the most common protocol for plasma protein extraction, ever since its inception in the 1940s. It was moderately successful in terms of extracting plasma proteins, with an extraction rate of 7% from blood (with plasma concentration of 1.8 to 3.5gm per liter). The new and improved method, exclusively patented by PTBI, is called the Optimized Plasma Process (OPP), which increases the yield by ten-fold, recovering almost 70% of plasma.

This technique is expected to be helpful for all the diseases treated with AAT, including COPD, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, vasculitis, immune dysfunctions, multiple sclerosis and a host of other conditions.