Since late 2006, when hiked levels of aldosterone and increases in blood pressure foiled Pfizer Inc.’s torcetrapib, researchers have been wary of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) inhibitors. But not all researchers. Among the still-hopeful is Newamsterdam Pharma NV, which recently rolled out positive phase II data with obicetrapib, and the company is forging ahead despite other CETPs that have not fared well in late-stage testing after performing nicely in phase II, including candidates from Merck & Co. Inc. and Eli Lilly and Co.
With rising rates of disease and established guidelines for treatment, officials at Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Inc. have “the wind at our backs” as they go about commercializing Inpefa (sotagliflozin) for heart failure (HF), after the drug was cleared late May 26 by the U.S. FDA, said CEO Lonnel Coats. Shares of The Woodlands, Texas-based Lexicon (NASDAQ:LXRX), which had risen significantly after hours on word of the Inpefa go-ahead, closed May 30 at $2.90, down 28 cents. Regulators gave their nod to the inhibitor of renal sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) and intestinal SGLT1 with a broad label across the full range of left ventricular ejection fraction, including HFpEF and HFrEF, and for patients with or without diabetes.
Heartseed Inc. raised ¥2 billion (US$14.3 million) in a series D round to continue the phase I/II Lapis trial of its allogeneic induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cardiomyocytes for heart failure. The lead asset, HS-001, is an investigational cell therapy consisting of clusters of purified heart muscle cells (cardiomyocyte spheroids) derived from iPSCs that are designed to restore heart muscle and function in patients with advanced heart failure.
Lianbio Co. Ltd. gained its first Asian approval in Macau for Camzyos (mavacamten/Myokardia Inc.) for treating adults with symptomatic obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (oHCM). The company in-licensed mavacamten rights from Myokardia, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Bristol Myers Squibb Co., in August 2020 for developing and commercializing mavacamten in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Thailand and Singapore. Mavacamten was granted breakthrough therapy designation in China in February 2022 for patients with oHCM.
By analyzing a cohort of adolescents that developed myocarditis or pericarditis after vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, researchers from Yale University School of Medicine were able to pinpoint the underlying mechanism as an overly active innate immune response to the vaccine that led to broad activation of T cells and natural killer (NK) cells. Myocarditis “has been seen in other vaccine contexts, though is most common after viral infection,” Carrie Lucas told reporters at a press conference announcing the findings.
A heart-protective cardiac myosin inhibitor and two biologics – one for a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and another for an inflammatory skin condition – were among the therapies recommended for approval by the EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use this week.
After receiving a U.S. FDA complete response letter nearly two years ago, Cyclopharm Ltd. said the agency has accepted its response and reset the clock for the NDA review of its Technegas combination product for pulmonary embolisms, with a new PDUFA date set for Sept. 29.
Acesion Pharma ApS reported that its lead drug candidate AP-30663 hit the primary endpoint of a phase II trial in atrial fibrillation (AF). The study had an adaptive design, which allowed for the recruitment of up to 108 patients experiencing an active AF episode, but the study investigators saw sufficient efficacy after a blinded evaluation of just 63 patients to terminate at that point. The study, which began shortly before the COVD-19 pandemic, had been underway for three years at that stage.
Esperion Therapeutics Inc.’s full results from the phase III outcomes trial called Cholesterol Lowering via Bempedoic Acid, an ACL-Inhibiting Regimen, known by the rough acronym CLEAR, inspired excitement in the mainstream media worldwide but not on Wall Street, as numbers from the experiment fell short of what some wanted. Though the findings proved unmistakably positive, shares of Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Esperion (NASDAQ:ESPR) dropped almost 20% or $1.27 to close March 6 at $5.08.
The U.S. FDA issued Cytokinetics Inc. a complete response letter (CRL) for omecamtiv mecarbil, branding the clinical evidence behind it as not “persuasive” enough to establish its effectiveness for reducing the risk of heart failure events and cardiovascular death. The company is developing the drug as an add-on therapy for patients with worsening heart failure who remain at high risk for heart failure events and hospitalization.
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