Project description
Miniaturised respiratory assist (MiRA) device for treating acute lung failure
Acute lung failure (ALF) is a life-threatening condition characterised by the inability of the lungs to maintain adequate oxygen levels and/or remove carbon dioxide from the blood. The standard of care for ALF is invasive mechanical ventilation, a costly procedure associated with high complication rates and mortality. Funded by the European Innovation Council, the MiRA project introduces a groundbreaking extracorporeal hyperbaric blood oxygenation technology. MiRA combines carbon dioxide removal with unrivalled blood oxygenation, aiming to provide a new treatment option for ALF patients. With MiRA, patients can be awake, and hospital length of stay, treatment costs, as well as complication rates and mortality are potentially reduced. The project seeks to optimise the system and obtain certification for conducting clinical studies.
Objective
Acute lung failure (ALF) is the third leading cause of death globally and is characterised by severe respiratory impairment. When non-invasive ventilation (NIV) fails, the treatment escalates to invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) - the current standard of care for ALF. IMV is highly invasive, with a high risk of complications and an avg. in-hospital mortality rate of 35%, costing thousands of euros per patient. Hospitals have signalled an unmet need for safe and adequate alternatives to IMV in ALF.
HBOX Therapies GmbH is bringing MiRA (Miniaturised Respiratory Assist) to market: a disruptive and innovative hyperoxygenation therapy that combines unrivalled blood oxygenation and CO2 removal to treat ALF patients, while they are awake. Such a breakthrough therapy has the potential to be the first treatment option for ALF patients who fail NIV. MiRA therapy has an outstanding cost-effectiveness and improved patient outcomes by avoiding or limiting the need for IMV and further respiratory deterioration in these patients. The growing incidence & prevalence of respiratory diseases causing ALF suggests that there are up to 6 million ALF patients who could benefit from MiRA every year, representing a market potential of €10.4 B/year.
Behind MiRA, there is our extracorporeal hyperbaric blood oxygenation (HBOX) technology - 2 patents protect the technology and the approach. HBOX has been validated in animal trials (TRL 5) and we now need to: i) finalise the integrated system for improved safety & efficacy, ii) complete clinical studies, and iii) obtain MDR/CE certification for the MiRA medical device to commence commercialisation.
We expect the results of the MiRA project to accelerate the market entry of HBOX and to serve as a platform technology for additional clinical applications in the future. The EIC support will be key for our company to establish itself as a leading company in the respiratory industry.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.3.1 - The European Innovation Council (EIC) Main Programme
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-EIC-ACC-BF - HORIZON EIC Accelerator Blended FinanceCoordinator
52074 AACHEN
Germany
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.