The Nonwovens Innovation and Research Institute (NIRI) has led a consortium of medical specialists to win the Collaborate to Innovate (C2I) Award for its Sanguis project.
The Engineer C2I Awards, in partnership with EngineeringUK and EPSRC, recognise the very best in UK technology-led collaborations and innovations in engineering. The Healthcare and Medical Award celebrates collaborative innovations in this truly life-changing and hugely competitive field.
The project is in partnership with NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) and Macopharma
NIRI’s award-winning Sanguis universal plasma project combined textiles and chemistry innovation in a project that could transform transfusion services and help save lives. Currently, only blood group AB plasma can be given to anyone, but only 4% of the UK population has this blood type, meaning a constant pressure on supply, whether in hospital, emergency or military scenarios.
Working in partnership with NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) and Macopharma, the Sanguis project has developed a process to remove ABO antibodies from donated human plasma, creating universal plasma which can be used to treat people of any blood type. Key to the process is a fabric-based immunoadsorption filter, developed and patented by NIRI.
“We use an artificial antigen bound to a nonwoven substrate,” says Dr Ross Ward, new business development manager at NIRI. “This artificial antigen is designed to bind the antibodies like a lock and key mechanism. The plasma runs through the filter, antibodies within the plasma are bound to the filter, resulting in a plasma with antibodies removed.”
With a global market value in excess of £350m for therapeutic plasma, the Sanguis universal plasma project envisages potential savings of £20m to the UK’s health service alone. Outside the UK, and to encourage global penetration, NIRI and the consortium members currently plan to offer the filtration technology as an add-on, rather than integrated directly into blood collection sets, allowing it to be used with any type of blood pack, enabling global access. Work is now underway to scale up the nonwoven filter production process.
“Clinical testing and being able to upscale into an industrial process, is our current focus,” adds Ward. “By working in close collaboration with NHSBT and Macopharma, we believe we have the right collaboration partners to ensure a regulatory approved commercialised product within the next five years.”
On winning the C2I Medical and Healthcare category, Ward says: “We are delighted that the Sanguis universal plasma project has been awarded this accolade, both for its potential impact within the medical sector and in recognition of innovation achieved through collaboration. Applying and commercialising scientific and technological research, this award is testament to the effectiveness of NIRI’s fundamental engineering approach to innovation and the benefit of effective collaboration with quality partners.”
