Iron Man: Novel Technologies for Autonomous Defense

Caldera Pharmaceuticals proposes to develop a highly metal-selective system to maintain iron concentrations in the body at optimal levels to prevent infections. The system will control iron without the loss of other essential micronutrients; loss of micronutrients is the cause of toxicity in most chelation systems. Metal selectivity and the corresponding safety for use is the key difference between Caldera’s system and other therapies. Caldera’s XRpro® will be used to conduct discovery-phase steps. Harvard collaborators will help to design and conduct a human study to determine whether optimal iron levels decrease spontaneous infection rates in a healthy population.