FerroDynamics, Inc. is focused to the condition SIRS -Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome - a condition often developed by patients admitted to critical care units often develop . SIRS is a biologic response to injury or disease that includes at least two of the following: abnormally high or low temperature, a rapid heart beat, excessively rapid or slow breathing, and a high or low white blood cell count. SIRS often leads to sepsis. With SIRS, the body often fails to control bacteria naturally found in the intestines. As these bacteria flourish, they produce lipopolysaccharides (LPS), as bacterial wastes. LPS is toxic to humans and animals, and has been identified as a link between SIRS and septic shock. This toxin compromises the integrity of the intestinal wall, permitting bacteria to escape into the bloodstream. The body is fighting a life-threatening, system-wide infection, that can result in multiple organ failure and death. Lactoferrin is considered an important component in host defense against pathogens. It is one of the key proteins found in mother's milk which assists newborns in fighting microbial infections. It is also found at all bodily orifices, where it is the first line of attack against invading bacteria. To test the medical benefits of lactoferrin, the University of Texas researchers introduced a lethal dose of LPS into mice, some of which were pretreated with lactoferrin. The results were dramatic: 83 percent of the mice pretreated with lactoferrin survived versus 17 percent of control animals. The study, published in the journal Inflammation , demonstrated a protective effect of lactoferrin on the gastrointestinal tract. In a 1995 study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association , 68 percent of patients admitted to intensive care units were identified as having SIRS. Of these SIRS patients, 26 percent develop sepsis during four weeks of follow up, 18 percent developed severe sepsis, and 4 percent developed septic shock. Mortality was 7 percent for SIRS only, 16 percent for sepsis, and 46 percent for septic shock. The study recommended treatment of the larger population with SIRS to prevent a relatively smaller number of deaths from septic shock. The university has licensed the patented technology to FerroDynamics. FerroDynamics focuses on developing two products which will use lactoferrin in response to SIRS to protect against the onset of sepsis: recombinant lactoferrin as a pharmaceutical grade product, and lactoferrin as an ingredient in medical nutrition. FerroDynamics presently holds rights to three other U.S. patents issued since 2000 on its recombinant lactoferrin clone and related technology.
