Study endorses Glaxo's (Lp-PLA2) new heart drug approach
Tuesday August 31, 6:28 am ET
By Ben Hirschler, European Pharmaceuticals Correspondent
MUNICH, Aug 31 (Reuters) - A novel approach to fighting heart disease pioneered by GlaxoSmithKline Plc (London:GSK.L - News) that targets an enzyme involved in the formation of artery-clogging plaques was endorsed by new research on Tuesday.
Doctors treating atherosclerosis, or the build-up of plaque, currently rely on cholesterol-lowering drugs -- but 50 percent of patients at risk of heart disease have normal cholesterol, indicating that other factors play a role.
Now a new study involving nearly 8,000 elderly people has confirmed that elevated levels of the enzyme lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) are linked to significantly higher risk of cardiovascular disease.
The news provides a boost for a GSK drug development programme viewed by analysts as high risk but which, if successful, could yield a new blockbuster medicine.
GSK is working on a compound in collaboration with Human Genome Sciences Inc (NasdaqNM:HGSI - News) that inhibits Lp-PLA2. The drug, known simply as 480848, is due to enter final Phase III trials in the first half of 2005 but is unlikely to reach the market before 2009.
The latest research into Lp-PLA2 was presented at the annual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology in Munich, based on the findings of a study of 7,983 patients aged 55 years and older.
Dr Albert Hofman of the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam said the risk of coronary heart disease was 77 percent higher for those people with the highest levels of Lp-PLA2 than the risk for those with the lowest levels.
The results -- which were based on categorising participants into four groups of equal size according to their Lp-PLA2 score -- also found a 76 percent higher risk of stroke.
"It's an important addition to a growing number of studies that indicate the significance of this drug target," said Rick Koenig, a spokesman for GSK.
Europe's biggest drug maker has still to prove that lowering Lp-PLA2 translates into improved outcomes for patients but its scientists are confident that the enzyme may be as important as cholesterol as a predictor of cardiovascular risk.
Suppressing Lp-PLA2 is thought to be important in stopping the inflammation that can cause plaques to rupture, thereby triggering heart attacks and strokes.
"Inflammation clearly plays a role in risk of heart disease and stroke. The Rotterdam data reinforce findings of additional recent research into this area," said Christopher Cannon, of Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston. |
