A Medical Device Daily

Aethlon Medical (San Diego), a developer of therapeutic devices for infectious disease, reported a research collaboration with The Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR; San Antonio) to study the Aethlon Hemopurifier as a potential treatment for Lassa Fever.

Lassa Fever is classified a category A bioterror threat in the U.S., and is an endemic viral condition in Africa. Category A bioterror threats are defined by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC; Atlanta) as agents that pose a risk to national security; are easily disseminated or transmitted from person to person; result in high mortality rates; could cause public panic and social disruption, and require special action for public health preparedness.

The studies will be performed at the nations only privately owned bio-safety level-4 (BSL-4) laboratory, located at the SFBR. BSL-4 facilities allow for the study of Lassa and other highly hazardous infectious agents requiring maximum containment.

In addition to this collaboration, Aethlon initiated Hemopurifier studies with researchers at both the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta) and The United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) in January, and entered into a research partnership with the Government of India in December. Data obtained in these studies will be included in submissions with FDA and other government agencies.

Aethlon describes the Hemopurifier as a broad-spectrum treatment countermeasure against drug and vaccine resistant bioweapons, naturally evolving pandemic threats, and chronic infectious disease targets including Hepatitis-C and the Human Immunodeficiency Virus.

In other agreement news: Premier Purchasing Partners (San Diego) reported that new agreements for operating room (OR) equipment drapes have been awarded to Advanced Medical Designs (Marietta, Georgia), and Microtek Medical (Alpharetta, Georgia). The 36-month agreements are effective April 1.

Premier also reported new agreements for OR lights and booms and OR tables awarded to Berchtold (Charleston, South Carolina); Stryker Instruments (Kalamazoo, Michigan); Skytron (Grand Rapids, Michigan); and Steris (Mentor, Ohio).

Agreements for OR tables have been awarded to Getinge USA (Rochester, New York; Skytron; and Steris.

The 36-month agreements became effective Feb. 1.

Premier is a group purchasing organization serving 1,700 hospitals and 44,000 other healthcare sites, Headquartered in San Diego, Premier has offices in Charlotte, N.C. and Washington. For more information, visit.