Aphios
Corporation Granted United States Patent for Virus Inactivation
Drug Safety Technique
May
18, 1999
—Aphios
Corporation has been granted United States Patent No. 5,877,005
on March 02, 1999. The patent is titled “Viral Inactivation
Method Using Near-Critical, Supercritical or Critical Fluids”
and is available for licensing.
Aphios’ virus inactivation method is based on advanced
liquid-liquid technology using supercritical, critical or
near-critical fluids with/without cosolvents (SuperFluids™)
for the gentle and rapid inactivation of both non-enveloped
and enveloped viruses. SuperFluids™
are normally gases which, when compressed, exhibit enhanced
solvation, penetration and expansion properties. SuperFluids™
are used to permeate and inflate the virus particles. The
overfilled particles are then decompressed and, as a result
of rapid phase conversion and expansion, rupture at their
weakest points.
Inactivation of pathogenic viruses is a major healthcare
concern. Viruses of concern include the enveloped HIV, the
non-enveloped hepatitis A virus and unknowns which are being
created from evolutionary mutations in hospital rooms or
which may have jumped species from animal hosts into human
beings as a result of rain forest disruptions. Pathogenic
viruses increase the risk of chronic and fatal infections
in patients whose very well being are often dependent on
the intravenous biologic and biotechnology products being
administered.
Unlike currently available virus inactivation techniques
which utilize organic solvents, heat and/or chemicals, Aphios’
SuperFluids™ CFI (critical fluid
inactivation) process is purely physical and generally applicable
to different classes of viruses. The CFI process can reduce
the viral load of most enveloped and non-enveloped viruses
by more than 6 logs (99.9999 %) in times less than 20 seconds.
Interestingly, the process is very gentle to therapeutic
proteins and enzymes which retain structural and biological
integrity. Products are left without traces of denaturing
solvents or mutagenic chemicals being utilized in current
virus inactivation technologies. CFI is amenable to batch
or continuous flow operations, is readily scalable and enjoys
economies of scale.
Aphios’ SuperFluids™CFI
process can be applied to human plasma used for blood transfusions,
human plasma products such as immunoglobulins and fibrin
glue, animal sera used in the biotechnology industry, recombinant
therapeutics and transgenics where a virus inactivation
step is essential and necessary for the manufacture of safe
products. The Company is utilizing CFI to develop virus-free
fibrin glue and immunoglobulin products, and therapeutic/preventative
vaccines for HIV.
Research leading to the development of this technology was
partially funded by Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR)
grants from the National Science Foundation and a prestigious
$2 million Advance Technology Program (ATP) grant from the
National Institute of Science and Technology, Department
of Commerce.
Aphios Corporation is a privately held research and development
company headquartered at 3-E Gill Street, Woburn, Massachusetts
01801, USA, tel: (781) 932-6933, fax: (781) 932-6865, e-mail:
aphios@aol.com. The
Company is developing research tools and industrial processes
for the improved discovery, manufacturing, delivery and
safety of naturally derived and genetically engineered therapeutics
for the treatment of cancer, AIDS, and other infectious
diseases in a cost-effective manner. The Company is profiled
in a recent interview on http://www.wallstreetinterview.com.
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