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Originally Posted by philologus
In another post Hemopure was said to be made from blood that is too old for normal usage. I assumed that this meant human blood.
This post says that it is made from Cow's blood.
Does anyone know which is correct please?
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Hemopure
OVERVIEW
A First-In-Class Oxygen Therapeutic
Hemopure® [hemoglobin glutamer - 250 (bovine)], or HBOC-201, Biopure's first-in-class product for human use, is approved in South Africa for the treatment of adult surgical patients who are acutely anemic and for the purpose of eliminating, reducing or delaying the need for allogenic red blood cell transfusion in these patients.
In October 2002, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted for review Biopure's biologic license application (BLA) to market Hemopure in the United States for a similar indication in orthopedic surgical patients. This acceptance is the first time a hemoglobin-based oxygen therapeutic for human use has reached this stage in the U.S. regulatory process. On July 30, 2003, the FDA issued Biopure a letter requesting additional information and suspending the BLA review clock. The company is now preparing a
comprehensive written response to these questions. Mechanism of Action
Hemopure consists of chemically stabilized bovine hemoglobin formulated in a balanced salt solution. On a gram-for-gram basis, this cross-linked hemoglobin carries the same amount of oxygen as the hemoglobin in red blood cells. However, these linked hemoglobin molecules circulate in plasma, and are smaller, have lower viscosity (resistance to flow) and more readily release oxygen to tissues than red blood cells. Consequently, they can carry oxygen at low blood pressure and can carry oxygen through constricted or partially blocked blood vessels to areas of the body that red blood cells cannot reach due to their larger size.
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