The bioprocessing industry is constantly looking to reduce the cost of manufacturing cell therapeutics to make them less expensive and more accessible to patients, while also maintaining the highest safety.
XMA and XMA-polymer single-use bioprocessing bags reduce oxidative stress and microbial contamination during bioprocessing, enabling enhanced cell viability, increased yield, and quality of the biologics being produced. It can also be applied to plastics and polymers for packaging of food and sensitive pharmaceutical drugs.
Beginning in 2030, Diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) — a softening agent linked to cancers, male reproductive disorders, and delay in brain development — will be banned in all medical devices in the Europe Union. US lawmakers have also called for action. The plasticizer can leach into patients during infusions, but also has a preservative effect on red blood cells. There are non-DEHP blood bags, but the shelf life of stored blood would be reduced from the standard of 42 days without its preservative effect. Currently, 18M units of donated blood are discarded due to expiration each year.
Using a combination of XMA and another non-toxic plasticizer eliminates DEHP toxicity and meets or exceeds the 42-day global storage standard – all while allowing blood bag manufacturers, hospitals and doctors to use existing equipment and practices, saving time and money as the world faces this essential transition.
Xheme also has a much bigger vision to develop a completely non-toxic blood bag that doesn’t require the use of either DEHP or PVC.
- Preserves the functional health of stored human blood, including rare blood types
- Prolongs storage of platelets at room temperature and can reduce microbial contamination (important for emergency and battlefield treatment)
- Allows for seamless integration with current blood bag manufacturing processes
