Haima Therapeutics developed "freeze-dried" synthetic blood platelets to stop internal bleeding

[00:00:01]Imagine a horrifying car accident in an area miles from a trauma center or a major metro area. Uncontrolled internal bleeding is the number one cause of preventable death after traumatic injury, but time is critical. Donated platelets can stop it, but they're fragile, spoil in days, and are rare in the field.

[00:00:22]>> Now, the bleeding that is the most concerning after injury is the bleeding you can't see. So, if you get in a car crash and you hit that steering wheel, you hit the dashboard, and there's no way that you can put any pressure on that.

[00:00:35]>> Case Western Reserve University researchers spent more than a decade building a synthetic alternative, a nanoparticle that mimics what platelets do naturally.

[00:00:46]>> particles can bind to them and start working together with your your natural platelets to form a platelet plug and stop that bleeding. So, it works a little bit like Fix-a-Flat for your veins.

[00:00:56]>> The product is a freeze-dried powder, small enough for a soldier's pocket, stable for a year at room temperature.

[00:01:04]It can be injected through a vein or directly into bone marrow when starting an IV line is impossible. In animal studies, it cut bleeding up to 75%.

[00:01:16]The Department of Defense is one of the funding agencies.

[00:01:19]>> But, the concept that we can take a product into the field and administer it immediately after injury, the military is super super excited about that product.

[00:01:27]>> And for good reason. Add water and it's ready in seconds with no lasting effects once the body clears it naturally within hours. Phase one trials begin in early 2027, testing safety in healthy volunteers. Phase two moves to spinal surgery patients where significant blood loss is predictable and controlled.

[00:01:48]Phase three is where it gets personal.

[00:01:51]The product goes on ambulances in participating communities, used in real trauma situations where patients may not be able to give consent in advance.

[00:02:02]>> Process of getting exemption from informed consent involves actually going to community town halls and having conversations with the community to say like we're testing a new product to reduce bleeding after a traumatic injury.

[00:02:17]>> But for those living miles from a level one trauma center, having access to something like this means minutes matter.

[00:02:25]>> We're developing a life-saving technology. We can give it to patients wherever they need it and whenever they need it.

[00:02:33]>> I'm Monica Robbins reporting.