PROMETIC’S PBI-4050 SHOWN TO REDUCE PULMONARY HYPERTENSION AND LUNG REMODELING AND TO IMPROVE RIGHT VENTRICULAR FUNCTION IN HEART FAILURE WITH REDUCED EJECTION FRACTION (“HFrEF”)
- Over 5 million Americans suffer from heart failure, the majority having HFrEF
- The presence of pulmonary hypertension (“PH”) with HFrEF significantly increases mortality rate
- No approved treatment exists for PH with left heart disease (“Group 2 PH”)
- New data from research conducted at the Montreal Heart Institute presented at the American Heart Association Annual Meeting in New Orleans
November 14, 2016 – ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. (TSX: PLI) (OTCQX: PFSCF) (“ProMetic” or the “Corporation”) today presented new results at the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Annual Meeting in New Orleans from preclinical studies performed at the Montreal Heart Institute, as well as new results on the positive effects of PBI-4050 on cardiovascular biomarkers in patients with Metabolic Syndrome and Type 2 Diabetes.
Dr. Jocelyn Dupuis, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Medicine, Université de Montréal and a leader in PH from the Montreal Heart Institute research performed an extensive preclinical study to test the potential benefits of PBI-4050 on cardiac and lung fibrosis, respiratory function, and lung structural remodeling following a myocardial infarction (“MI”) induced by coronary artery ligation. Beginning two weeks after the MI, the animals were treated with PBI-4050 for three weeks.
Dr. Dupuis commented: “PBI-4050 effectively reduced pulmonary hypertension and right ventricular hypertrophy by reducing lung fibrosis and lung remodeling. These results strongly suggest that PBI-4050 has the potential to effectively treat the lung remodeling process in patients with Group 2 pulmonary hypertension and improve the right ventricular function. Moreover, PBI-4050 did not adversely affect the healing of the left ventricle and, in fact, we observed some improvement in left ventricular function.”
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) associated with left heart disease (known as Group 2 PH) is the most prevalent form of PH, yet there is currently no approved treatment. HFrEF, which commonly follows MI, often leads to lung remodeling characterized by myofibroblast proliferation and fibrosis, with progressive worsening of PH and with right ventricular (RV) dysfunction. The presence of PH following MI is associated with significantly worse clinical outcomes.
“The data from this study and several other experiments performed at the Montreal Heart Institute, along with the positive effects of PBI-4050 on several cardiovascular biomarkers in patients with Metabolic Syndrome, convince me that PBI-4050 may greatly benefit patients suffering from this form of pulmonary hypertension”, stated Dr. John Moran, Chief Medical Officer of ProMetic, who added: “We will be presenting more results during our forthcoming analyst day on November 21 in New York City”.
More than 5 million Americans suffer from heart failure, the majority being HFrEF. The incidence of PH in HFrEF varies from 20% to 60% according to the definition used and the sampled population. Once present, PH carries a very poor prognosis in HFrEF and there are no effective therapies. The main cause of HFrEF is coronary artery disease. The incidence increases with age and with co-morbidities such as hypertension, diabetes and renal failure, and it is common in patients with Metabolic Syndrome.
Posters presentations at the conference:
Dr Dupuis, Monday Nov 14, 2016, 2:00 PM - 3:15 PM:
PBI-4050 Therapy Selectively Improves Pulmonary Hypertension, Lung Remodeling and Right Ventricular Function in Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction
Dr Gagnon, Tuesday Nov 15, 2016, 1:30 PM - 2:45 PM
PBI-4050 Reduces Cardiovascular Biomarkers in Type II Diabetic Patients with Metabolic Syndrome
MORE ABOUT PBI-4050
PBI-4050 is an orally active lead drug candidate with excellent safety and efficacy profiles confirmed in several in vivo experiments targeting fibrosis. Fibrosis is a very complex process by which continuing inflammation causes vital organs to lose their function as normal tissue is replaced by fibrotic scar tissue. The proof of concept data generated to date confirms our lead drug candidates’ anti-fibrotic activity in several key organs including the kidneys, the heart, the lungs and the liver. Twenty six million patients in the U.S. alone are believed to suffer from chronic kidney diseases (“CKD”). Patients with severe CKD stages (3 and 4) suffer from a progressive loss of their renal function leading to end-stage renal disease and the need for dialysis or kidney transplant. Cardiovascular complications are the most common cause of death in dialysis patients.'
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