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SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION
PROXY STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 14(a)
OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
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NORTHFIELD LABORATORIES INC.
(Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)
C. ROBERT COATES
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3) Filing Party: C. Robert Coates
4) Date Filed: September 12, 2002
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Press Release
SOURCE: C. Robert Coates
COATES, WILLIAMS OFFER TO HELP NORTHFIELD LABORATORIES PURSUE MILITARY FUNDING
LAKE FOREST, Ill., Sept. 12 -- On the heels of an annual military medical
conference, C. Robert Coates said PolyHeme, the blood substitute product under
development by Northfield Laboratories (Nasdaq: NFLD), could fit nicely in a
number of military applications now in the pre-proposal stage by the Department
of Defense.
"Northfield is sitting on a rich resource and potentially missing out on
millions of dollars in government R&D grants. Since Northfield has not announced
that they have received funding, we are willing to volunteer to help with the
proposals at no cost", Coates offered. He and associate Bert Williams are
independent candidates for the company's board of directors.
The week-long Advanced Technology Applications for Combat Casualty Care (ATACCC)
conference ends Friday in Florida. The conference, at which Northfield was a
presenter, demonstrates the importance the military attaches to critical
advances in trauma medicine and how the military can capitalize on them.
For example, the Office of Naval Research and the Naval Medical Research and
Development Command are soliciting pre-proposals directed at basic and applied
biomedical research focusing on Navy-relevant aspects of combat casualty care,
particularly hemorrhagic shock and blood products
(http://www.onr.navy.mil/02/baa/02_008.htm). In particular, the Navy is calling
for "novel therapeutic interventions for severe hemorrhage and shock; methods
for casualty stabilization and life sustainment following massive hemorrhage;
and design, testing and evaluation of supportive and therapeutic resuscitation
fluids." PolyHeme would be a natural candidate, said Coates.
The Navy's Warfighter Protection program has three priorities:
(http://www.onr.navy.mil/sci_tech/personnel/fnc/fnc_wfp.htm)
* The need to improve combat casualty care and management
* The need to prevent casualties
* The need for a fit, healthy force
Heading its list for filling its FNC (Future Naval Capability) gaps in Fiscal
2007 are oxygen-carrying blood substitutes (artificial blood). However, there's
no reason that the Navy needs to wait until 2007, given the availability of
PolyHeme. But Northfield does need to achieve FDA approval, even for use by the
military.
The Office of Naval Research (ONR) said its strategy "applies limited resources
to high-payoff deliverables that will save lives and preserve a healthy and fit
force." Of particular interest, the ONR said, are "red cell substitutes free of
vasoactivity and immuno-suppressant activity that function without exogenous
oxygen support."
Other companies working on blood substitutes already are collecting government
grants. Last week Biopure Corp. said it received nearly $1 million to develop
its Hemopure blood substitute for military trauma applications from the U.S.
Department of the Army.
Evan Migdail, a Washington, D.C.-based lawyer who specializes in government
affairs, said for two years in a row Congress has allocated $7 million to
support research of blood substitute products. "Obviously, companies should
waste no time and should aggressively compete for these funds", Migdail said.
The military's desire for blood substitutes focuses on the so-called "golden
hour", the crucial first 30 to 60 minutes on the battlefield after injury.
Experts say that 50% of deaths are due to hemorrhage within the first hour.
Meanwhile, Bert Williams said that in recent weeks interest has surfaced in
military circles about what Northfield has to offer.
"We've had conversations with the military about the tremendous lifesaving
potential of this product", Williams added. "And if we expand the thought
process to include equipping civilian care flights and emergency medical service
(EMS) units with PolyHeme, the potential number of lives saved in the critical
post-trauma moments becomes even more significant."
If you are a shareholder with comments, suggestions or questions about the Sept.
13 proxy contest, please call Simon Goldberg of the Robert Coates Group at 1-800
-295-0841, extension 240, or e-mail us at sgoldberg@rcoates.com.
SOURCE: C. Robert Coates