BALTIMORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--KaloCyte, Inc., a developer of bio-inspired red blood cell substitute ErythroMer™, today announced it has closed an investment from New York Blood Center, Inc. (NYBC).
KaloCyte recently concluded a successful pre-IND meeting with the Food and Drug Administration. The investment from NYBC will support operational scale up as KaloCyte prepares for human trials.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the tenuous nature of our nation's blood supply. We believe KaloCyte’s technology and lead program show promise for a safe, effective red blood cell substitute that could save lives when perishable donor blood is not available,” said Jay Mohr, Chief Financial and Business Officer of NYBC. “Our investment is indicative of our belief in the strength and quality of KaloCyte’s science, data and leadership.”
“NYBC’s leadership in blood component supply and transfusion medicine research is a perfect fit as we advance the development and commercialization of ErythroMer,” said Elaine Haynes, President and Chief Executive Officer of KaloCyte. “We are thrilled to have NYBC as an investor in KaloCyte.”
In the US alone, 30,000 trauma victims die unnecessarily from blood loss because they are too far from a treatment center. On the battlefield, blood loss accounts for 90% of potentially survivable deaths. These deaths occur because perishable donor blood is simply not available in time to save those lives. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, blood centers across the country experienced prolonged blood shortages due to the impact of canceled blood drives and stay at home orders.
KaloCyte’s mission is to make an easy-to-use, shelf-stable red blood substitute available anywhere and at any time. Pre-clinical data demonstrate that the ErythroMer red blood cell substitute safely emulates the oxygen-carrying function of red blood cells. ErythroMer is purpose-designed: Easy to store, transport, and use in an ambulance, on the battlefield, or during extreme and prolonged emergencies. It can be easily and rapidly used, simply by reconstituting with water.
With the closure of this investment, KaloCyte is now focused on raising its Series A equity round, expected to close by late 2022. The Series A will fund IND-enabling studies and Phase 1 clinical trials for ErythroMer’s primary indication as an oxygen carrier when perishable blood is not available.
About KaloCyte
KaloCyte is redefining future emergency treatment for victims of traumatic blood loss with its first-in-class product ErythroMer, a dried red blood cell substitute that is easily transported and rapidly administered for when perishable donor blood is unavailable.
Backed by over $10M in investor and federal grant funding, KaloCyte’s groundbreaking research is succeeding where others have tried and failed, poised to serve an untapped $7 billion U.S. market.
Learn more at www.kalocyte.com.
About New York Blood Center
Founded in 1964, New York Blood Center (NYBC) is a nonprofit organization that is one of the largest independent, community-based blood centers in the world. NYBC, along with its operating divisions Community Blood Center of Kansas City, Missouri (CBC), Innovative Blood Resources (IBR), Blood Bank of Delmarva (BBD), and Rhode Island Blood Center (RIBC), collect approximately 4,000 units of blood products each day and serve local communities of more than 75 million people in the Tri-State area (NY, NJ, CT), Mid Atlantic area (PA, DE, MD, VA), Missouri and Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Rhode Island, and Southern New England. NYBC and its operating divisions also provide a wide array of transfusion-related medical services to over 500 hospitals nationally, including Comprehensive Cell Solutions, the National Center for Blood Group Genomics, the National Cord Blood Program, and the Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, which — among other milestones — developed a practical screening method for hepatitis B as well as a safe, effective and affordable vaccine, and a patented solvent detergent plasma process innovating blood-purification technology worldwide.
