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Dr. Michael Knudson Receives a Contract Award from Terumo Corporation to Assess the Effectiveness of Pathogen Inactivated Platelets

April 30, 2018

Dr. Michael Knudson

Dr. Michael Knudson received a three year contract award from Terumo Corporation as part of a multi-institutional study investigating platelet transfusions. The award, entitled ‘Clinical Effectiveness of Conventional Versus Mirasol-treated Apheresis Platelets in Patients with Hypoproliferative Thrombocytopenia (MIPLATE)’ is a randomized controlled study involving patients with hematological malignancies. The University of Iowa hopes to enroll 2-3 subjects per month over 30 months. Despite extensive testing, bacterial contamination of conventional platelets remains a significant risk for patients receiving these products. Terumo Corporation is the primary sponsor of the study although the clinical trial is underwritten by a grant from the NIH. Terumo has developed a process that utilizes Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) in combination with UV light to kill pathogens such as bacteria and viruses. Pathogen inactivation of platelets using this process has been shown to effectively reduce bacteria in vitro and substantially reduce the risk of infectious disease in patients receiving these platelets. A key question is whether these pathogen inactivated platelets are as effective in preventing bleeding as conventional platelets, a question to be addressed by the MIPLATE study. Successful completion of this study would support FDA approval of the pathogen inactivation process.