The acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a common cause of respiratory failure in critically ill patients and is characterized by failure of oxygen (O2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) movement (gas exchange) across the alveolar-capillary membrane. Despite its high mortality rate of 30-50%, there are currently no definitive pharmacologic therapies for ARDS. Thus, there is a pressing requirement for novel ARDS treatments that must facilitate immediate O2 delivery to and CO2 removal from alveolar capillaries. Moreover, for sustained ARDS management and ARDS resolution, it has to eliminate inflammation, improve lung compliance and correct perfusion/ventilation mismatch without causing significant side effects. Considering the task of caring for traumatically injured and/or critically ill soldiers on the battlefield, especially in isolated regions, it needs to be easily administered by a minimal number of health care personnel in resource limited settings. Zymeron develops a non-invasive Z-BREATH aerosol therapy for immediate and sustained ARDS management, which can be used in austere environment with minimal clinical staff operation requirements.
