Perfusion Medical has been selected as one of three recipients of Virginia Catalyst’s 19th round of funding. The company will receive an $800,000 non-dilutive grant to support the continued development of PM-208, its first-in-class IV resuscitation therapy for shock and ischemia.

The award was announced by Governor Abigail Spanberger as part of a $2.4 million investment in Virginia’s life sciences ecosystem. Virginia Catalyst, the Commonwealth’s research consortium founded in 2013, funds collaborative projects that bring university innovation closer to commercialization and to patients.

Perfusion Medical’s project, “Demonstrating Blood Conservation with PM-208,” unites two of Virginia’s leading research institutions. PM-208 was invented by Martin J. Mangino, Ph.D., and his team at Virginia Commonwealth University, and this grant-funded work will be carried out in collaboration with Andrew E. Muck, M.D., and his team at the University of Virginia. The funding will support pivotal studies designed to demonstrate PM-208’s ability to conserve blood across a range of trauma scenarios, which could have significant implications for patients in resource-limited settings, where access to blood products and rapid trauma care can be difficult.

“Perfusion Medical is grateful for Virginia Catalyst’s support as we advance PM-208,” said Gerard Eldering, CEO, Perfusion Medical. “With a specific focus on demonstrating the blood-sparing potential of this critical lifesaving drug across a wide range of trauma situations, this project is particularly relevant to Virginia’s rural communities, which can face higher barriers to care.”

Perfusion Medical joins Pascal Medical Corporation and Sonogen Medical as this round’s three awardees, each advancing Virginia-born medical innovations toward clinical and commercial reality.