- A clinical trial will start on ten patients hospitalized in Paris who will be injected with a solution of sea worm blood.
- Already used for organ transplants, the hemoglobin in the arena is intended to help oxygenate patients seriously affected by Covid-19.
- The CEO and founder of Hemarina, the Breton company behind this solution, explains to 20 Minutes how it can be a reason for hope for patients.
Across the planet, clinical trials are increasing in an attempt to find a treatment against the coronavirus. In this race against the clock which is underway, a sea worm brings hope to patients seriously affected by the Covid-19. This is the arenicola, an animal whose blood has very important oxygenation powers.
In the coming days, ten patients hospitalized at Pitié-Salpêtrière and Georges-Pompidou will be administered a molecule developed from the hemoglobin of this sea worm. Founder and CEO of the company Hémarina, based in Morlaix, Franck Zal explains to 20 Minutes how this solution could help the sick.
Who is this hopeful animal called the arenicole?
It is a sea worm that occurs in large numbers on beaches. It is to him that we owe the little twists that we see on the sand. When we see these worms on the beach, they no longer breathe, they only do so when they are underwater. For six hours, at low tide, they will therefore stop breathing. They will live on their oxygen reserve which is fixed on their hemoglobin molecules. This is what makes this sea worm so interesting because it has a very high concentration of hemoglobin with oxygenating capacities 40 times higher than human hemoglobin.
Has this sea worm blood ever been used in the health sector?
Yes, the molecule we produce, called Hemo2Life, is already used for therapeutic applications. This is particularly the case for organ transplants. The hemoglobin of these marine worms helps preserve the graft and considerably increase its survival while awaiting transplantation. Professor Lantieri also used this solution when he performed the first total face transplant.
How could this seaworm blood help coronavirus patients?
So you have to be clear. This solution does not cure Covid-19, it has no effect on the virus as such. But it must help oxygenate patients, especially those who are in intensive care and are in respiratory distress. By providing the patients with the oxygen contained in the hemoglobin of this sea worm, this will slow down their metabolism. This will act as a kind of molecular respirator. We will thus be able to avoid a patient falling into intensive care and try to prevent as much as possible the bottleneck of the intensive care services.
What is at stake in this clinical trial? And when will the results be known?
The stakes are twofold. We will first check the security and reliability of this solution on these patients. And then we will have to see what dose we manage to reduce the suffocation of people and if a single dose is enough. I now let the resuscitators include the patients in the trial according to the criteria defined in the protocol. But the results will be known very quickly, maybe even within a week.
If the tests are successful, what is your production capacity?
We do not collect worms on the beach, we raise them in an aquaculture farm in Noirmoutier. Today we have 5,000 doses available. And we are ready, if the trial works, to put ourselves in battle order to produce up to 15,000 additional doses.
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