Aphios Gets NIH Grant For CFI Virus and Pathogen Inactivation Technology

Aphios has received a phase I Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Institutes of Health (NIH). The fund is intended to develop CFI as a generally-applicable virus and pathogen inactivation technology for human plasma, plasma products and biologics.

Aphios’ CFI (critical fluid inactivation) technology works, in part, by first permeating and inflating the virus and pathogen particles with a selected SuperFluids gas under pressure. The CFI process is purely physical and does not involve the use of heat, chemicals or irradiation that could damage sensitive enzymes and proteins, said the company.

Trevor Castor, primary inventor of the Aphios CFI technology, said: “In addition to its direct applicability to human plasma and plasma proteins, CFI has the capability to clear viruses and pathogens from biotechnology drugs and monoclonal antibodies. It also has the potential for the rapid manufacturing of antiviral human and animal vaccines since protein integrity and antigenicity are retained during the purely physical virus inactivation step.”