A South Dakota bio-tech firm is using blood byproducts from cattle to develop new ways of treating injured soldiers on the battlefield.The technology could also save lives after natural disasters such as the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti, company executives say."It could help a lot of people in mass casualty situations where blood loss and wounds that need to get healed are a problem," says Steve Tye, vice president of operations for IKOR Inc. "This is a drug that can be stored for years so it can be delivered on the first flights out there."IKOR aims to use hemoglobin from cattle as its raw material to develop blood replacement products for injured soldiers, Tye says. The goal is to heal their wounds more quickly and effectively, partly because the products can help deliver oxygen to the wound.The cattle byproducts would come from packing plants, where much of the blood from cattle goes to waste as the animals are processed.The firm plans to develop and produce its products in Aberdeen, S.D., where it has its laboratories. Executives expect to collaborate with Northern State University in Aberdeen. Investors who provided funding for IKOR's start-up are from South Dakota, which is a main reason IKOR's work is being done in the state, says co-founder James Canton.Up to 50 percent of deaths on the battlefield are from severe blood loss, according to a statement from Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., who helped IKOR to secure .2 million in funding from the U.S. military to continue its research. Johnson included the money as part of the Defense Appropriations Bill which passed the Senate in December.Treating soldiers injured in combat now requires materials that are difficult to store on or near the battlefield, according to the statement from Johnson's office. IKOR's product requires no refrigeration, and can be stored and carried where it's needed, Canton says.Blood products which could be stored and then taken by medics to injured soldiers could be very useful, says Dr. Jeff Anderson, the state surgeon for the South Dakota Army National Guard. The Army's medical professionals are "always looking for innovation, always looking for new ways to best serve the greatest fighting force that the world has ever known," says Anderson, who is also an emergency room physician in Mitchell, S.D.Getting rapid help for injured soldiers — or survivors of a disaster — is crucial if there's hope of stopping blood loss. The window of survival is usually an hour or less. That's because deaths from blood loss typically occur during the first hour after an injury, says Dr. Chris Carlisle, an emergency room physician at Sanford-USD Medical Center.Wounds left untreated are invaded by bacteria, Carlisle says. That has been a major concern in Haiti, where preventing deaths from infected wounds is among the most pressing public health concerns, according to documents from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Untreated wounds have led to deadly cases of sepsis, doctors in Haiti have reported.IKOR has obtained some patents already, and has about a half-dozen more patents pending, Tye says. It was founded in 2005 and has its laboratories in a 10,000-square-foot facility in Aberdeen's industrial park. IKOR also has an office in San Francisco, home of Tye's father and IKOR co-founder Dr. Ross Tye.IKOR has 10 employees now, and hopes to have well over 100 by the time production of its products begins.Tye says the firm's executives are in discussions with federal regulators as the technology is developed, a process which can take years. One upcoming milestone is federal approval to test the drugs on humans.

Source: Army Times