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| |  C5 Inhibitor Reported To Block Apoptosis During Myocardial Infarction NEW ORLEANS, April 4, 1997 -- Today at the annual Vascular Biology '97 meeting, Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s C5 Inhibitor was reported to block the programmed cell death (apoptosis) of heart tissue cells resulting from myocardial infarction. Dr. Gregory Stahl, Assistant Professor of Anesthesia at Harvard Medical School and Associate Physiologist in the Center for Experimental Therapeutics and Reperfusion Injury at Brigham and Women's Hospital, presented the preclinical findings. "These studies identify a novel pathway of apoptosis mediated by the complement cascade and are the first to demonstrate that the terminal complement components play a key role in the apoptotic process in heart tissue during myocardial infarction," said Dr. Stahl. "Further, blockade of the complement cascade at C5 substantially reduced myocardial apoptosis and tissue damage." In a model of myocardial infarction designed to simulate the damage that occurs during a heart attack, blood flow to rat hearts was temporarily blocked and then restored. The report demonstrates that blocking the flow of blood to the heart leads to the activation of a cascade of pro-inflammatory complement proteins that damage tissue and induce cellular apoptosis. The presented work demonstrates that administration of the C5 Inhibitor largely prevented cellular apoptosis and the subsequent tissue damage that occurs in model. "Dr. Stahl's work identifies a novel pathway by which complement mediates cell death and suggests that blockade of the terminal complement components with a C5 Inhibitor significantly limit tissue damage during myocardial infarction," said Dr. Leonard Bell, President and Chief Executive of Alexion. "These fundamental studies provide additional scientific data to support the development of 5G1.1-SC as a therapeutic for several significant cardiovascular disorders including CPB-associated inflammation, myocardial infarction and stroke." Alexion's C5 Inhibitors are specific and potent recombinant drugs which are designed to block the complement cascade. The Company believes that these proprietary C5 Inhibitors intervene at a key point in the complement cascade that preserves the disease preventing functions of the complement system while blocking the terminal components that cause disease. 5G1.1-SC, Alexion's lead complement inhibitor, is a novel compound specifically designed to rapidly penetrate tissue and limit inflammation. In addition to the preclinical efficacy in models of myocardial infarction, Alexion's C5 Inhibitors substantially prevent the activation of complement, platelets, neutrophils and the subsequent inflammatory process that occurs in models of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Alexion completed a Phase I safety trial with the 5G1.1-SC in September and 5G1.1-SC is currently being tested in a Phase I/II clinical trial in patients undergoing CPB. According to the most recent statistics available from the American Heart Association, there are approximately 450,000 CPB surgical procedures performed and approximately 1,000,000 patients suffer an MI in the U.S. each year. Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. was founded in 1992 and is engaged in the development of selective immunotherapeutic drugs that generally are designed to inhibit disease-causing segments of the immune system while preserving the disease-preventing aspects of the immune system.
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