• Focused on enabling more selective approaches for certain extracorporeal blood purification (EBP) therapies

• Led by Baxter’s renowned research and development team in Hechingen, Germany

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX), a global leader in acute care, today announced it received a new research and development (R&D) grant from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). With the grant, Baxter will lead an initiative aiming to create a new technology platform enhancing the ability to target selective removal of pathogenic substances during certain extracorporeal (outside the body) blood purification (EBP) therapies. The grant provides €1.5 million in funding over three years to Baxter and its research partners through the BMBF’s “Biomaterials Platform: Mat2MedTech” program. 

EBP therapies are used in patients with a variety of acute and chronic diseases, including acute kidney injury (AKI), autoimmune diseases, sepsis and liver failure. During certain EBP therapies, the patient’s blood travels through an extracorporeal device, where pathogenic substances are cleared by attaching to an adsorbent biomaterial before the blood is returned to the patient’s body. The hemocompatibility of the biomaterial’s surface is critical to enabling its biological function without harming blood cells or causing coagulation. There is currently a focus on developing and enhancing biomaterials that mimic human tissue properties to selectively target pathogenic substances for removal, while preserving essential blood components such as albumin, immunoglobulins, cl…