Opsonix

Opsonix, Inc. operates as a life sciences company focused on developing a novel therapy for blood-borne infectious diseases, with a primary concentration on sepsis. The company was spun out of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University in 2015. Its establishment was facilitated by a worldwide exclusive licensing agreement with Harvard's Office of Technology Development and an initial $8 million Series A financing round led by Baxter Ventures and private investor Hansjörg Wyss.

The scientific foundation of Opsonix was laid by Donald E. Ingber, M.D., Ph.D., and Michael Super, Ph.D. Ingber is the Founding Director of the Wyss Institute and a distinguished professor at Harvard, recognized for his pioneering work in mechanobiology, tissue engineering, and bioinspired engineering. Super, a senior staff scientist at the Wyss Institute with extensive experience in the biotechnology industry, specializes in protein engineering for therapeutic and diagnostic applications. Their collaborative research, which was supported by a DARPA grant, led to the technology that Opsonix is commercializing. The founding CEO, Eric Devroe, Ph.D., who brought over 15 years of life sciences experience, developed the company's strategic plan as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Wyss Institute.

Opsonix’s core business is the commercialization of an extracorporeal pathogen-extracting therapy. This treatment functions similarly to dialysis, where a patient's blood is circulated outside the body through a medical device to be cleansed before being returned. The company's business model centers on the development and eventual sale of these therapeutic devices to hospitals and clinics that treat patients with systemic infections. The primary clients are healthcare providers managing critically ill patients, particularly those in intensive care units where sepsis is a major cause of mortality.

The company's key product is a device that uses proprietary pathogen-capture proteins to physically remove a wide array of infectious agents and their toxins directly from the bloodstream. The central feature is its lead molecule, FcMBL, a genetically engineered protein derived from the human Mannose Binding Lectin (MBL). MBL is a natural component of the innate immune system that binds to a broad spectrum of pathogens, including bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites, as well as the toxins they release. The engineered FcMBL protein is attached to the inner surfaces of hollow fibers within a dialyzer-type cartridge. As blood flows through the cartridge, the FcMBL captures pathogens and toxins, effectively cleansing the blood. A significant selling point is its broad-spectrum capability, which allows for immediate treatment without needing to first identify the specific causative agent of the infection. This approach can be used in conjunction with antibiotics and is also effective against antibiotic-resistant organisms.

Keywords: sepsis therapy, pathogen extraction, blood purification, FcMBL, Wyss Institute, Donald Ingber, Michael Super, extracorporeal therapy, blood-borne diseases, infectious disease treatment, antimicrobial resistance, opsonin, Mannose Binding Lectin, Baxter Ventures, bioinspired engineering, medical device, endotoxin removal, pathogen capture, bloodstream infection, critical care medicine