Alteon's ALT-711 Found to 'Remodel' Cardiovascular System in Preclinical Study
- Study Presented at the American Heart Association Council for High Blood Pressure Research Shows Ability to Reduce the Thickening of the Heart That May Lead to Cardiovascular Disease -
RAMSEY, N.J., Sept. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Alteon Inc. (Amex: ALT - news) announced today that an academic team has released results of a new preclinical study that demonstrated the ability of ALT-711 to decrease the thickening of the heart that may occur as a result of hypertension, and to improve the function of the endothelium. These results were presented at the American Heart Association's 55th Annual Fall Conference and Scientific Sessions of the Council for High Blood Pressure Research.
``ALT-711, A Collagen Cross-link Breaker, Decreases Myocardial Fibrosis and Improves Endothelial Dysfunction in Hypertensive Dahl Salt Rats'' was presented at the AHA meeting by Maddalena Veronisi, M.D., Ahmed G. Adam, M.D., and Leopoldo Raij, M.D., Hypertension & Nephrology Section, V.A. Medical Center and University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN. The researchers tested ALT-711's ability to selectively break the cross-linking of collagen that contributes to cardiovascular disease in aging and diabetes. ALT-711 normalized left ventricular fibrosis, or the thickening of the left ventrical of the heart, and improved the function of the endothelium, the part of the cardiovascular system that regulates both the relaxation and contraction of blood vessels and contributes to the maintenance of the vascular structure. The authors suggest that ALT-711 may be effective for improving cardiovascular remodeling in hypertension.
``These results add to our growing base of preclinical and clinical studies consistently demonstrating that ALT-711 may have a broad beneficial action on the cardiovascular system,'' said Kenneth I. Moch, Chairman and CEO of Alteon. ``This particular study is important as an additional preclinical demonstration of ALT-711's ability to remodel the diseased heart.''
ALT-711 is currently being tested in humans with systolic hypertension. The Phase IIb SAPPHIRE (Systolic And Pulse Pressure Hemodynamic Improvement by Restoring Elasticity) trial was initiated in July 2001, and will enroll approximately 450 patients at 40 centers. The study builds upon positive data from a Phase IIa human trial that demonstrated ALT-711's ability to lower systolic blood pressure and pulse pressure in aging and diabetic patients. |
