Artificial platelet manufacturing advances as startup raises $10m
Platelet BioGenesis has raised $10m in series A funding to advance its artificial blood platelet manufacturing technology. The financing, led by Qiming US Healthcare Fund, will support pre-clinical trials for the Boston-based start-up's cell-based bioreactors. Platelet BioGenesis aims to provide a more reliable supply of platelets by removing the dependence on human blood donations and eliminating the need for bacterial and viral screening.

Boston-based Platelet BioGenesis has received $10 million in Series A financing to move their platelet manufacturing technology forward. The financing round for the Harvard University spinout was led by Qiming U.S. Healthcare Fund and included Vivo Capital, eCoast Angels and other investors.

The new financing will support preclinical studies for Platelet BioGenesis’ stem cell-based bioreactors. The company hopes to begin clinical trials in around three years. By removing human donations from the platelet equation, Platelet Biogenesis hopes to create a more reliable supply.

“We can only store platelets for five days, so we can’t always get them when we need them,” said Cofounder and Chief Business Officer Sven Karlsson in a phone interview. “The root cause of the problem is our dependence on human donors.”

Platelet supply is highly reliant on consistent blood donations. However, during summer vacations, inclement weather or other events, donations can decline. On the other side of the ledger, terrorist attacks or natural disasters can increase demand while donations remain static.

“By manufacturing platelets, we extend shelf life, eliminate the need for bacterial and viral screening, make them more affordable and produce them on demand,” said Karlsson.

The company’s bioreactor is designed to act like bone marrow, using induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells to generate megakaryocytes (bone marrow cells that only produce platelets). The megakaryocytes are placed in the top portion of the reactor and bathed in a medium. Platelets transfuse through a porous membrane and collect in the bottom. Because megakaryocytes can be frozen, they can be easily stockpiled and thawed to meet increased demand.

“In the U.S., we would produce platelets in centralized manufacturing facilities and distribute them through the traditional supply chain,” said Karlsson. “A hospital today might order a bag of platelets from the Red Cross. In the future, they might order a bag from us.”

Bioreactors could also be deployed to disaster areas or war zones as needed, ensuring adequate platelet supplies.

Manufactured platelets could especially benefit trauma and chemotherapy patients, both of which can experience treatment delays during platelet shortages. Karlsson believes the market is around $2 billion in the U.S. and between five and ten times that worldwide. There are many areas where platelet transfusions are scarce or nonexistent.

“Platelets today are really limited to first world countries and within major cities,” said Karlsson. “If you go into rural America, it can be very hard to access platelet transfusions. By potentially increasing the shelf life and eliminating the connection to human donors, we should be able to extend platelet transfusion to billions of people around the world who need them.”