Deploying an FcMBL-Based Extracorporeal Blood Purification Filter in a Critically Ill Patient with COVID-19

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the cause of COVID-19, can progress to life-threatening disease and multiorgan failure, and the degree of circulating SARS-CoV-2 directly correlates to clinical deterioration and mortality. The engineered FcMBL protein binds numerous pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2, and pathogenic debris known as pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs).

We report the first clinical use of an extracorporeal filter utilizing FcMBL to bind and remove pathogens and PAMPs from the circulation of a critically ill patient with COVID-19-induced multiorgan failure.

This case highlights the feasibility of using the novel filter to reduce the circulating pathogen load in patients with severe infection through the use of agnostic pathogen binding via FcMBL.