The state of Washington’s Life Sciences Discovery Fund (LSDF) has announced that it will award six research-project grant awards totaling $5.1 million to life sciences organizations and their partners, including one to for optimizing limb amputation procedures and one to enhance bone healing.
“The Life Sciences Discovery Fund is pleased to further expand its diverse portfolio by making awards to these outstanding investigators,” said Executive Director Lee Huntsman. “Their projects represent an impressive breadth of focus, from novel cancer therapies and cutting-edge agricultural science to new technologies to facilitate biomedical research and enhance human health and quality of life.”
Daniel Leotta of the University of Washington won $509,051 for a project titled “Imaging Oximetry of Peripheral Ischemia for Identification of Amputation Level.” The project is focused on developing an easy to use, low-cost, non‐invasive portable device that can measure local tissue oxygenation and help guide surgeons in performing lower-limb amputations.
A project description stated, “Approximately 150,000 non-traumatic lower-extremity amputations are performed in the U.S. each year; diabetic patients account for over 50 percent of these. The annual cost of lower-extremity amputations due to diabetes alone is more than $1.5 billion. Diabetic patients are also more likely to require re-amputation to a higher level, resulting in additional costs and patient morbidity. The ongoing challenge for surgeons is to balance primary wound healing at the amputation site against maximal limb salvage. Selection of the correct amputation level is essential for maximizing rehabilitation potential and avoiding complicated re-amputations. Current methods for predicting lower-extremity amputation level are expensive, invasive, and/or have limited reliability. This project will develop a new device to measure oxygen levels in limb tissue to assist surgeons in locating poorly oxygenated (ischemic) tissues for excision and well oxygenated (perfused) tissues for salvage. In clinical studies, the investigators will assess correlations between the oxygen levels measured by their device, surgeons’ choice of amputation level, and post-surgical healing. Although the initial application of this new device is for amputation-level selection, it may also be useful for predicting and monitoring healing of diabetic foot ulcers, pressure ulcers in spinal cord injury patients, and surgically created skin flaps. A Washington-based medical device manufacturing company will provide in-kind market research and commercialization support to the project.”
Norman Karin, of the Pacific Northwest Division of Battelle, Columbus, Ohio, was awarded $1,022,867 for a project titled, “A Cost-Effective Hydrogel-Growth Factor Complex to Improve Bone Healing.” The project is focused on developing safe, effective, and inexpensive implant materials to promote bone regeneration.
A project description stated, “Approximately 8 million fractures are sustained each year in the U.S., of which 5-10 percent exhibit impaired healing that requires surgical intervention. Increased bone fragility and impaired healing are prevalent in the elderly, which presents an increasing burden of care as the population ages. Bone healing is also important for integration of dental implants into the jaw. There is a critical need for inexpensive implant materials containing bone-healing stimulators that can be handled easily by surgeons. The investigators have identified a growth factor that promotes bone healing in preclinical models with no apparent toxicity and can be manufactured for a fraction of the cost of currently available bone-healing stimulators. The research team will embed this growth factor in proprietary ‘hydrogels’ to create an implant that will release the factor in a controlled fashion. In collaboration with Washington State University, they will then test the ability of the hydrogel-growth factor implants to stimulate bone regeneration in preclinical studies. If successful, the investigators will continue development and pursue commercial licensing of the implants for both human and veterinary clinical use.”
The LSDF Board of Trustees selected the awardees from among 61 proposals that were evaluated by national experts convened by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In what the Discovery Fund calls “a highly competitive process,” each proposal was rated on its scientific merit and its potential to improve health and healthcare in Washington and provide statewide economic returns.
The Discovery Fund stated in a press release that its board of trustees was impressed with applicants’ attention to both health and economic development. Board chair Lura Powell said that the funded projects in particular “demonstrate a keen understanding of the Life Sciences Discovery Fund’s mission and exhibit potential for both near- and long-term impact on Washington’s economy, the well-being of its citizens, and the state’s life sciences competitiveness.”
Funding for these projects comes from Washington’s allocation of bonus payments under the Master Tobacco Settlement, revenues arising from multi-state litigation with tobacco product manufacturers. This group of awardees is the fifth to be funded by LSDF through the tobacco settlement mechanism.