X-COR

Summary: XCOR has created the first low-flow extracorporeal CO2 removal (ECCOR) circuit in modern medicine. At blood flow rates 10x below existing products on the market, XCOR’s ECCOR circuit offers down-market use cases and outpatient therapeutic applications previously unachievable by existing technology. XCOR is able to clear sufficient CO2 rates from the blood at flow rates comparable to dialysis, so far as to leverage existing dialysis infrastructure and equipment in hospitals and private clinics. Moreover, procedures, personnel and perception associated with dialysis can be associated with XCOR’s cartridge, smoothing over the ‘cross of the chasm’ to successfully launch a new method of care in hospitals nationwide. By supplementing breathing with a low-blood flow extracorporeal device, X-COR displaces need for invasive lung support systems (ventilators) and high-flow extracorporeal devices (ECMO). Initially, our goal is to make XCOR a commercially viable product. In our long-term vision, we see an opportunity to transition COPD and acute respiratory failure into an outpatient economy, much like dialysis and renal failure are today. The opportunity to create a vertically integrated company that provides clinic service directly to patients unlocks maximum value of our technology and creates the most value for the global healthcare system as a whole.

Need: XCOR’s product offers hospitals and clinics a low-complexity method to vent CO2 from patients with acute respiratory failure, instead of intubation and mechanical ventilation. Respiratory failure related deaths are growing nationwide at an 8% CAGR (adj for pop growth), greater than cancer and cardiac-related deaths. Intubation and mechanical ventilation is the main failure mode, an outdated method of care resulting in 50+% mortality in the first 6 weeks of hospitalization. ECCOR and ECMO technologies are currently being researched by big firms, but they are too expensive and require specialization to administer care. There is a 2M patients/year existing market-need for cheaper, safer, low-flow ECCOR, growing to 20M/year including all untreated COPD cases.

Value: Our XCOR ECCOR performs at unprecedented low-flows, allowing for smaller cannula and lower complexity care applications. Instead of requiring an ICU and a specialized physician for care, nurses in outpatient clinics can care for COPD and respiratory failure patients. This speeds up discharge rates and lowers care and cost burdens on clinics and hospitals. To date, no such device has been described in the medical or engineering literature and an initial screen of the US patent database has yielded no comparable invention. An effective and safe ECCOR therapy that is compatible with existing healthcare technology can be rapidly adopted to revolutionize current clinical practice.