A product made from naturally occurring human fibrinogen is under development as a high-strength surgical sealant.
A product made from naturally occurring human fibrinogen (a soluble plasma glycoprotein), Gamma Prime Fibrinogen, is under development as a high-strength surgical sealant that resists being broken down by the body and would have the ability to withstand higher blood pressure in vascular wounds. “With a lot of sealants used today the body’s natural enzymes break them down,” says David Eastman, CEO of Gamma Therapeutics, the Portland-based biotech company that is developing the sealant. Built on research by Dr. David Farrell, an OHSU professor and founder of Gamma Therapeutics, the sealant can be sprayed or dripped onto a wound, and once dissolved with water the clotting process to form the seal begins. Farrell says the sealant would be most useful where there is significant tissue damage, such as from trauma surgeries and hip or knee replacements. A patent is pending for the Gamma Seal while grant requests are being made to the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense.
