New trial possible for blood substitute

Biopure Corp., the Cambridge firm seeking to develop a substitute for human blood, said the US Navy is in discussions with the Food and Drug Administration about smaller trials for the blood substitute called Hemopure.

The Navy, which sees Hemopure as a way to keep injured personnel alive until they reach an operating room, originally wanted to test the product on 1,100 trauma patients.

But partly because trauma patients would be unable to consent to participation, the FDA's Blood Product Advisory Committee, or BPAC, suggested a smaller trial size last week.

"The BPAC meeting was very productive in that it identified a path forward for the study of Hemopure as an emergency pre-hospital treatment until patients can receive blood or other standard treatment at a hospital," Biopure chief executive Zafiris G. Zafirelis in a statement.

In mid-morning trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market, Biopure shares were down 4 cents to 53 cents.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)