The program was previously the subject of a partnership with GlaxoSmithKline’s cardiovascular centre of excellence for drug discovery unit.
Vitae’s other research programs include a substantial collaboration with Boehringer-Ingelheim on a diabetes program targeting 11 beta hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, a Bace program for Alzheimer’s disease and a multi-kinase cancer program.
Richard Gregg, chief scientific officer of Vitae, said: “We believe our renin program has the strong potential to deliver a best-in-class drug, and we plan to aggressively advance our lead towards the clinic in 2009. We expect to target hypertension, diabetic nephropathy, congestive heart failure and related cardiovascular indications after completing investigational new drug-enabling toxicity studies.”