ALT-2074 formerly BXT-51072, was licensed by Oxis Pharmaceuticals to Alteon in September 2004. It is a low molecular weight oral drug that mimics the antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase. It directly neutralizes hydrogen peroxide and appears to protect cells from oxidative and inflammatory damage.
The study suggests that a haptoglobin (Hp) genotype, specifically Hp 2-2, determines myocardial infarction size in diabetes, and that the administration of ALT-2074 to mice with this genotype undergoing ischemic-reperfusion injury, resulted in a reduction in myocardial injury
The company believes that these significant results support the development of ALT-2074 as a potential pharmacogenomically driven therapy for diabetic patients with the Hp 2-2 genotype. ALT-2074 is currently in phase IIa human clinical trials
“These data suggest that the Hp 2-2 genotype may confer significant cardiovascular risk in diabetic patients and that strategies such as ALT-2074 designed to decrease the iron-mediated lipid peroxidation associated with this genotype may provide significant myocardial protection,” noted Andrew Levy of the Rappaport Institute of the Technion University, Israel.