Development of inhalable platelet-based therapy for treatment of acute lung injury

Patients with lung injury arising from trauma or infection can develop acute respiratory distress syndrome and pulmonary oedema with a high mortality rate. Platelet rich plasma (PRP), produced by concentrating platelets from patients own blood, is a therapy that is proving highly effective in clinical trials for other tissue injuries that require regeneration, e.g. diabetic ulcers. This project will investigate the hypothesis that a regenerative PRP product can be administered to the lungs by inhalation to treat acute lung injury. Training will be provided in collaborative bioscience and pharmaceutical development to design a novel therapy and develop it towards patient benefit.



The project will be developed in phases. The first year will provide technical training and confirmation of preliminary data on PRP production techniques and in vitro models/bioassays to guide product development. Year 2 will focus on product characterisation and developing aerosol delivery systems, along with exploratory in vivo studies. A 3-month placement with Biotherapy Services will provide training in Disease Area Mapping to understand the clinical need and health impacts of the novel therapy. By year 3 product prototypes will be ready for confirmatory safety and efficacy in a pre-clinical disease model. In year 4 a proof-of-concept study will be performed to demonstrate the efficacy of the optimised inhaled PRP in an in vivo model of lung injury.



The line-of-sight to the clinic will be strongly embedded in project goal setting and student training. This will be led by Biotherapy Services and will run alongside laboratory investigations.