>>VACAVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 18, 2003--Large Scale Biology Corporation (Nasdaq:LSBC - News) today announced a new addition to its product pipeline, an exclusive license agreement with the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio for the development of a drug to treat atherosclerosis, a leading cause of death in the U.S.
LSBC's license covers atherosclerosis and cholesterol storage disorders discussed in an article co-authored by Gregory A. Grabowksi, MD and published last Friday in the American Heart Association journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, (http://atvb.ahajournals.org/atvbefirst.shtml), Volume 23, Issue 11. Promising results in mouse models indicate that administration of lysosomal acid lipase (LAL) decreases atherosclerotic plaque accumulation in mice chronically fed high fat diets. Coronary and aortic plaque were eliminated in early stages and reduced both quantitatively and qualitatively in advanced stages. Dr Grabowski, Professor and Director of the Division of Human Genetics at Cincinnati Children's, called the results "extremely encouraging for the development of a pharmaceutical that can have an important impact on the treatment of a major cardiac health problem throughout the world."
Noting that "there is potential to treat both atherosclerosis and cholesterol storage disorders," Kevin J. Ryan, President and CEO of LSBC called the collaboration "an outstanding new addition to the LSBC commercial development portfolio." Sales of cardiac therapeutic drugs in the U.S. alone range in the billions of dollars annually. According to the American Heart Association, coronary heart disease (CHD) is the most common form of heart disease and the leading cause of death for Americans. About 12.9 million living Americans have a history of heart attack, angina pectoris or both. Each year, an estimated 1.1 million Americans suffer a heart attack, about 515,000 of which are fatal.
LSBC will employ its proprietary technologies to produce LAL for clinical applications and will be seeking a commercial partner for the co-development of the drug. Financial details of the agreement between LSBC and Cincinnati Children's were not disclosed. <<
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>>Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2003 Nov 13 [Epub ahead of print].
Reduction of Atherosclerotic Plaques by Lysosomal Acid Lipase Supplementation.
Du H, Schiavi S, Wan N, Levine M, Witte DP, Grabowski GA.
OBJECTIVE: Proof of principle is presented for targeted enzyme supplementation by using lysosomal acid lipase to decrease aortic and coronary wall lipid accumulation in a mouse model of atherosclerosis. METHODS AND RESULTS: Mice with LDL receptor deficiency were placed on an atherogenic diet and developed predictable aortic and coronary atheroma. alpha-Mannosyl-terminated human lysosomal acid lipase (phLAL) was produced in Pichia pastoris, purified, and administered intravenously to such mice with either early or late lesions. phLAL injections reduced plasma, hepatic, and splenic cholesteryl esters and triglycerides in affected mice. phLAL was detected in hepatic Kupffer cells and in atheromatous foam cells. Repeated enzyme injections were well tolerated, with no obvious adverse effects. In addition, the coronary and aortic atheromatous lesions were (1) eliminated in their early stages and (2) quantitatively and qualitatively reduced in their advanced stages. CONCLUSIONS: These results support the potential utility of lysosomal acid lipase supplementation for the treatment of atherosclerosis, a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in Westernized nations.<<
Cheers, Tuck |
