Na das ist ja mal was positives für Paion
Acorda Therapeutics Announces Preclinical Data on GGF2 in Heart Failure Presented at American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2011Wednesday, November 16, 2011 7:00 AM
Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ACOR) today announced that preclinical data from a study of its investigational drug Glial Growth Factor 2 (GGF2) showed GGF2 significantly improved ventricular function in a heart failure model in swine. GGF2 is currently being evaluated as a treatment for heart failure in a Phase 1 clinical trial. These data were presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2011 being held in Orlando, Florida.
“These data extend previous preclinical study findings that GGF2 improves heart function in preclinical models of heart failure,” said Anthony Caggiano, M.D. Ph.D., Vice President of Research and Development at Acorda. “GGF2 represents a novel approach for treating heart failure by improving heart function rather than addressing the symptoms associated with decreased function. The results of the first Phase 1 clinical trial of GGF2 in patients with heart failure are expected in 2012, and will provide additional information about the safety and potential of this therapy.”
The poster, entitled “Neuregulin-1beta Improves Cardiac Remodeling after Myocardial Infarction in Swine” (Abstract 15531), examined the effects of GGF2 on cardiac function in a model where heart failure is induced by creating an experimental myocardial infarction (MI). Cardiac function was measured by echocardiography. GGF2 was administered twice a week starting one week after induction of heart failure. After four weeks of treatment, GGF2 therapy was associated with significantly improved left ventricular function, along with reduced ventricular dilation.
“Improving heart function would represent a significant advance in the treatment of heart failure. The results of this study are encouraging and support further exploration of GGF2 in clinical trials,” said Doug Sawyer, M.D., Ph.D., Lisa M. Jacobson Professor of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Heart and Vascular Institute, whose team conducted the study.
The study was funded by a Cardiac Translational Research Implementation Program (C-TRIP) grant awarded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to support research on GGF2. The grant, supporting laboratory studies, was awarded jointly to Acorda and Vanderbilt University Heart and Vascular Institute, which are collaborating on research of GGF2 in heart failure. Dr. Sawyer is the lead primary investigator on the C-TRIP grant; Dr. Caggiano is the co-primary investigator.
GGF2, which is part of a family of proteins known as neuregulins, has been shown to be pharmacologically active in a number of preclinical models of cardiovascular and neurological conditions. |