Therapy
Therapeutic apheresis involves the targeted removal of harmful substances from the body. To do this, the blood plasma is first separated from the blood cells (plasma separation in the primary device). The plasma is then passed through the adsorber using a secondary device. The harmful substances are bound there. The purified plasma is then reunited with the blood cells in the primary device and infused back into the patient.
If the adsorber's removal performance decreases, it is automatically regenerated with various rinsing solutions so that the adsorber's performance is restored.
The following diagram shows schematically an apheresis treatment.
Apheresis is usually a safe therapy with few side effects. In contrast to drug treatment, it can be stopped immediately at any time. This makes it a fast-acting therapy option that can also be used during pregnancy (Fassbender et al. 2015).
Adsorber
Capture Medical develops an adsorber to combat diseases with pathologically elevated C-Reactive Protein levels. The aim is to specifically remove CRP from the patient's blood plasma. With this treatment method, the loss of other plasma proteins is kept to a minimum.
The adsorber contains an agarose-based matrix to which binding molecules are coupled, which selectively bind CRP. The following diagram shows the structure of a CRP adsorber.
Awards
2025 – Positive G-BA assessment and financing directive
On April 2025, the German Federal Joint Committee (G-BA), the highest decision-making body of the German health care stakeholders including health insurance companies published a legally binding directive which includes a positive potential assessment of CRP apheresis and the approval for the financing of a confirmatory multi-center clinical trial in Germany in acute myocardial infarction.
2021 – Future Award of the State of Brandenburg
Award accepted by Ahmed Sheriff for highly innovative and internationally recognized CRP apheresis research and technology and contributions to combating the COVID pandemic.
2020 – German Medical Award for Prof. Jan Torzewski
Prof. Torzewski, chief physician at the Heart and Vascular Center of the Allgäu Clinic Network in Bavaria received the award in the category “Cardiology - Medical Innovation Practices & Clinics” for more than 20 years of research on “C-reactive protein (CRP) and cardiovascular diseases” and for the successful application of CRP apheresis after heart attacks.
