UPMC Enterprises’ newest portfolio company, Globin Solutions Inc., is developing a rapidly acting antidote for carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, the most common form of human poisoning.
The pre-clinical stage biopharmaceutical startup, formed by a group of scientists at the University of Pittsburgh, recently announced completion of a more than $5 million Series A funding round. The funding round was led by Tus Science & Technology Service Group of China with participation from UPMC Enterprises.
The company, which is supported by the Translational Science team at UPMC Enterprises, will use the funding for pre-clinical development of its lead compounds, manufacturing optimization, and toxicity studies to ensure that the treatment is safe in animals.
CO poisoning is responsible for more than 50,000 emergency room visits in the U.S. annually and is one of the leading global causes of poisoning deaths. CO exposure also results in debilitating effects on the body and the brain, including cognitive deficits that, in some cases, can persist months or years after a poisoning event.
Current treatment options for CO poisoning include administering 100 percent oxygen or using a pressurized hyperbaric chamber to administer oxygen at greater than normal air pressure – focusing on trying to replace CO in blood with oxygen as quickly as possible.
However, both treatments are only moderately effective. Transporting patients to a hyperbaric chamber requires a significant amount of time, and many poisoned patients may not be stable enough for this therapy. Globin Solutions is testing the idea that an antidote can be infused intravenously at the scene of a poisoning, which would increase the speed of administration and be an advantage over hyperbaric treatment.
UPMC Enterprises is excited to work with Globin Solutions, which aims to accelerate the application of scientific discoveries to new models of care delivery, narrowing the gap between bench and bedside.
