HemaCare Shifts Efforts in Search for AIDS Treatment

HemaCare Corp., the Sherman Oaks provider of blood products and services, said it will change course in its efforts to develop a plasma product that may prove effective in treating AIDS.

Rather than pursue federal Food and Drug Administration approval of the plasma product, Immupath, which relies on whole plasma gathered from HIV-positive donors, the company will embark on testing and development of a plasma-derived product, called intravenous gamma globulin. This product is, in essence, a purified distillation of antibodies from human plasma.

After several years of testing, Immupath research had been put on hold pending studies of the sterilization method used for the product. HemaCare said it believes approval of its new product will be simpler because it will involve fewer potential difficulties related to sterilization.

HemaCare, which has been seeking an investor to continue research of the effect of plasma therapies in AIDS patients, also said that it plans to cut back on staff and some operations related to the research to conserve cash and improve the performance of its core blood-products business.