The ascending-dose, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study will examine the safety and tolerability profile of DG051 as well as pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.
“This work is built on our pioneering discoveries in human genetics, which have given us novel insights into the biology of heart attack and enabled us to take the lead in addressing this pathway to develop new therapeutics and diagnostics,” said Kari Stefansson, CEO of Decode.
DG051 is a novel small-molecule inhibitor of leukotriene A4 hydrolase (LTA4H), the protein made by one of the genes in the leukotriene pathway which Decode has linked to risk of heart attack.
Like DG031, the company’s lead compound for the prevention of heart attack now in a phase III clinical trial, DG051 is designed to decrease risk of heart attack by decreasing the production of leukotriene B4 (LTB4), an end product of the leukotriene pathway and a potent promoter of inflammation.