Indiana CTSI grant leads to external funding for research

Jaipal Singh, PhD, Director of the Indiana Center for Biomedical Innovation (ICBI) at Indiana University School of Medicine, was awarded a grant from AMAG Pharmaceuticals to conduct research on preeclampsia and associated complications, including preterm birth. The ultimate goal of the research is to develop treatment for preeclampsia, a disorder characterized by high blood pressure that can lead to poor outcomes for both baby and mom.

According to the United Health Foundation, Indiana’s maternal mortality rate is 41.4 deaths per 100,000 births, which is double the rate of the national average. Only two states have worse rates. Singh’s goal is to develop an external medical device that can remove disease-related molecules from the blood, which would reduce the pathological mechanisms that contribute to pregnancy-related hypertension and other complications of preeclampsia.

“The blood from the patient is circulated through the device without any exposure to the patient or the fetus,” said Singh. “Because it is an external device and the patient is not exposed to any drug, the method is considered safe, which is critical for safety of the fetus.”

The research program at ICBI on preeclampsia is targeted to understand the molecular mechanisms of preeclampsia and develop strategies to prevent and treat preeclampsia safely, addressing one of the major causes of pregnancy related complications and preterm birth.

The initial research was made possible by Indiana University Health and the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, funded in part by grant #ULITR002529 from the National Institutes of Health, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Clinical and Translational Sciences Award and The Advanced in Medicine (AIM) grant from Cook Medical. Now the AMAG award will help develop the translational potential of this research for patient care.

The ICBI is a program of the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute.