Announcement by Velico Inc. and South Texas Blood & Tissue
Velico Inc. announcement
San Antonio, Texas, Jan. 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Velico Inc. launched a groundbreaking collaboration with South Texas Blood & Tissue (STB&T), a subsidiary of San Antonio-based nonprofit BioBridge Global and a recognized leader in prehospital transfusion, in January 2023. And now, STB&T has made history as the first U.S. civilian blood center to install Velico’s FrontlineODP™ System for spray drying human plasma as part of Velico’s Blood Center Education Program (BCEP).
Through its participation in BCEP, STB&T gains early access to Velico’s innovative FrontlineODP™ Spray Dried Plasma System, providing the opportunity for hands-on experience in evaluating its potential integration into routine blood component production. STB&T will also deliver valuable feedback on the system’s commissioning process and operational performance.
The FrontlineODP™ System produces “on demand” spray dried plasma, an innovative solution for transfusion in environments where conventional plasma products (often frozen) are unavailable or logistically challenging to use. Velico’s proprietary spray drying manufacturing process creates a powdered plasma product that is stable at ambient temperature, can be reconstituted with sterile water and ready for transfusion in approximately 2 ½ minutes. This technology is anticipated to transform accessibility of plasma for transfusion benefiting:
- First responders, including ground and air ambulances.
- Rural hospitals, which typically lack plasma inventory.
- Military needs, including austere deployment and battlefield applications.
- Mass casualty events, where stockpiled plasma inventories will provide rapid access.
Richard Meehan, President and CEO of Velico Medical, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration with STB&T on the BCEP program. Meehan highlighted that this partnership is poised to deliver critical insights for advancing best practices, supporting preparedness for the future commercial launch of the FrontlineODP™ Spray Dried Plasma System, and ensuring customers are equipped for manufacturing readiness. “FrontlineODP™ has the potential to be a transformative, life-saving solution for emergency medical providers, with the capability to save thousands of lives annually,” said Meehan.
“Participating in the BCEP program provides us the opportunity to continue our history of firsts in serving our community and raising the standards for blood administration in our region and across the country” says Audra Taylor, Vice President of Blood Operations, South Texas Blood & Tissue and former Chief, Armed Services Blood Program (ASBP) Division for the Defense Health Agency. “Once available, I fully expect that FrontlineODP™ will enable us to provide lifesaving plasma to many EMS and emergency medical providers currently unable to carry conventional blood products due to logistical challenges and product availability.”
CAUTION: Investigational device. Limited by Federal (or US) law to investigational use. The FrontlineODP ™ Spray Dried Plasma System is currently under investigation and has not received FDA approval for any indication.
Program Funded by BARDA. Contract number #75A50121C00059
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About South Texas Blood & Tissue: South Texas Blood & Tissue is a nonprofit community blood center that provides blood, plasma, platelets and other blood components to 100 hospitals in 49 South Texas counties. It is the largest blood supplier in the region. Through the generous life-legacy gifts of human tissue, South Texas Blood & Tissue also supports development of tissue allografts for patients in need of reconstructive surgery, repair or tissue regeneration. South Texas Blood & Tissue has a 50-plus years of service to the South Texas community and is part of the BioBridge Global family of nonprofit organizations, which offers services in regenerative medicine and research, including blood banking and resource management; cellular therapy; umbilical cord blood collection and storage; donated human tissue recovery and distribution for transplant; and testing of blood and plasma products to help patients in the United States and worldwide. South Texas Blood & Tissue has nine donor centers in South Texas and conducts hundreds of mobile blood drives each year. Learn more at SouthTexasBlood.org.
About BioBridge Global: BioBridge Global is a San Antonio-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit healthcare services enterprise that offers diverse services through its nonprofit subsidiaries – South Texas Blood & Tissue, QualTex Laboratories, BBG Advanced Therapies and The Blood & Tissue Center Foundation. BioBridge Global provides products and services in blood resource management, cellular therapy, donated umbilical cord blood and human tissue, as well as testing of blood, plasma and tissue products for clients in the United States and worldwide. The enterprise enables advances in the field of regenerative medicine and advanced therapies by providing access to starting materials, testing services and biomanufacturing and clinical trials support. BioBridge Global is committed to saving and enhancing lives through the healing power of human cells and tissue. Learn more at BioBridgeGlobal.org.
About Velico: Velico, Inc. is a private US medical technology company, committed to the mission of eliminating preventable death from bleeding. Headquartered in Beverly, Massachusetts, USA. Velico personnel have substantial expertise and experience in transfusion medicine and medical device development. In support of its mission, Velico is developing partnerships with civilian, government and military blood center leadership, trauma surgeons, emergency medical physicians, military medics and first responders worldwide. Velico’s development program has been funded in whole or in part with federal funds from the Department of Health and Human Services; Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response; Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, under contract number 75A50121C00059. For more information visit veli.co
Attachments
CONTACT: Roger Ruiz South Texas Blood & Tissue 210-296-9026 roger.ruiz@biobridgeglobal.org
