ProThera Biologics announces Funding from the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation to study the Association between Inter-alpha Inhibitor Proteins and Disease Severity in Severe Pneumonia Patients.

ProThera Biologics, Inc. has been awarded a $50,000 Innovation Voucher from the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation to support a study in collaboration with Rhode Island Hospital (RIH). ProThera Biologics is a biotherapeutics company developing Inter-alpha Inhibitor Proteins (IAIP) therapy to treat patients with life threatening diseases. IAIP are natural, circulating proteins which are essential for human health; the levels of these proteins are normally high in healthy individuals but drop rapidly in patients who are fighting severe inflammation. In this project, ICU patients at Rhode Island Hospital diagnosed with severe pneumonia will be enrolled to study the blood levels of IAIP to support ProThera’s planned clinical trials of this novel treatment. Dr. Mitchel Levy, Medical Director of the Intensive Care Unit, Division of Critical Care, Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine, will be the principal investigator at Rhode Island Hospital.