Trophos said that the study demonstrates the potential for TRO40303 to protect heart tissue from ischemia-reperfusion injury induced when treating myocardial infarction.
Trophos claimed that TRO40303 acts by preventing stress-induced mitochondrial permeability transition, a target implicated in cardiac reperfusion injury as well as neurodegenerative diseases and other pathologies.
Trophos study shows that TRO40303 binds directly to the cholesterol site of the mitochondrial outer membrane protein, TSPO, which is highly expressed in heart and is associated to the mitochondrial permeability transition pore, allowing rapid uptake of TRO40303 into cardiac tissue.
Trophos stated that TRO40303 has completed preclinical safety and toxicology studies required for entry into Phase I and the first clinical studies of TRO40303 in healthy volunteers are expected to start in the 2nd half of 2010 using a clinical formulation developed to allowing intravenous administration of TRO40303 immediately prior to emergency balloon angioplasty in patients suffering an acute MI.
Rebecca Pruss, CSO of Trophos, said: “We are very pleased to publish this important work, which was conducted in collaboration with an international scientific network, in JPET.
“TRO40303 is the second product coming from our discovery strategy screening for compounds promoting survival of pathophysiologically stressed cells.
“Olesoxime (TRO19622), our first compound to enter clinical development is now in a clinical trial to assess efficacy in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease) and a Phase 2 study in patients with spinal muscular atrophy is expected to soon begin enrolling patients indicating that this class of compounds is safe and well tolerated both in animals and humans.”