EVANSTON, Ill., Oct. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Delivering the
prestigious Scudder Oration on Trauma at the American College of Surgeons 88th
Annual Clinical Congress in San Francisco today, leading trauma surgeon Ernest
E. Moore, M.D., Chief, Department of Surgery at Denver Health Medical Center
and Professor of Surgery, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center,
argued that the "the future is now" for the use of blood substitutes in trauma
care, both in military and civilian settings. Dr. Moore has served as the
principal investigator for the clinical trials in trauma with PolyHeme(TM), a
blood substitute being developed by
Northfield Laboratories Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLD).
Dr. Moore noted that the ongoing war on terrorism will require new methods
of treatment to ensure the survival of American troops. "The U.S. Army
recognizes an evolving paradigm shift to a 'dispersed battlefield' where
prolonged evacuation will become the rule rather than the exception," he
noted. "The deployment of our troops to Afghanistan has clearly demonstrated
the need for resuscitation of injured soldiers far removed from full medical
care. As a result, blood is often unavailable when transfusion may be
necessary. Furthermore, the battlefield setting has included extended
evacuation times, up to 24 hours," he added.
PolyHeme has the potential to simplify and facilitate the treatment of
urgent blood loss by permitting immediate, rapid and simultaneous replacement
of the lost volume and hemoglobin that occurs with hemorrhage. The unique
benefit of PolyHeme, according to Dr. Moore, is its ability to maintain
hemoglobin levels in bleeding patients in the absence of red cell transfusion,
and avoid the onset of life-threatening anemia and subsequent mortality until
critical bleeding can be surgically controlled and red cell transfusions are
available. Northfield recently announced that it is collaborating with the
U.S. Army to develop a treatment IND for the battlefield use of PolyHeme.
In his presentation, Dr. Moore reviewed the details of a recent trial of
171 patients who received rapid infusions of one to 20 units of PolyHeme in
lieu of red cells as the initial oxygen-carrying replacement in trauma and
urgent surgery. The trial confirmed PolyHeme's life-sustaining capacity in
massive blood loss situations when blood is unavailable. Full details of this
trial were published in an original scientific article in the October 2002
issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
Dr. Moore pointed out that although the potential benefit for military use
has largely driven the development of blood substitutes, there are a number of
key applications in civilian trauma as well. Most conspicuous is the role in
pre-hospital care, particularly for extended transport times. In addition,
there are remote hospitals throughout the United States where stored blood is
simply not available or is rapidly depleted when multiple casualties are
encountered.
Dr. Moore further stated that heightened preparation for disaster --
terrorist provoked or natural -- is now virtually a daily exercise in trauma
centers around the country. He pointed out that the events of 9-11
demonstrate the challenges and inflexibility of the current system for
collection and storage of blood in this country. Had there been a large
number of injured patients requiring blood, the available supplies might not
have been adequate. As the country responded with a remarkable increase in
blood donations, the unexpected situation of considerable loss due to
outdating of the blood after 42 days occurred.
"The acute demand for blood will vary considerably depending on the
inciting mechanism, population density, physical setting and access to trauma
care," Dr. Moore said. "The universal compatibility and extended shelf-life
of blood substitutes make them particularly attractive in disaster
preparation," he added. He concluded by saying, "I believe the day in which
the clinical benefit of blood substitutes will finally be realized has
arrived."
Statements in this release that are not strictly historical are
"forward-looking" statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor
provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-
looking statements involve known and unknown risks, which may cause the
company's actual results in the future to differ materially from expected
results. These risks include, among others: competition from other blood
substitute products; the company's ability to obtain regulatory approval to
market PolyHeme commercially; the company's and/or its representative's
ability to successfully market and sell PolyHeme; the company's ability to
manufacture PolyHeme in sufficient quantities; the company's ability to obtain
an adequate supply of raw materials; the company's ability to maintain
intellectual property protection for its proprietary product and to defend its
existing intellectual property rights from challenges by third parties; the
availability of capital to finance planned growth; and the extent to which the
hospitals and physicians using PolyHeme are able to obtain third-party
reimbursement, as described in the company's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
Visit the Northfield website at: http://www.northfieldlabs.com
SOURCE Northfield Laboratories Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.northfieldlabs.com
CONTACT:
Steven A. Gould, M.D., Chief Executive
Officer, or investors, Sophia Twaddell, both of Northfield
Laboratories Inc., +1-847-864-3500; or media, Cindy Martin of
FRB/Weber Shandwick, +1-312-640-6741, for Northfield Laboratories
Inc.
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