EMERYVILLE, Calif., May 10 /PRNewswire/ -- KineMed, Inc., a pathway-based drug discovery and development company, announced today the first method for measuring the efflux of cholesterol from tissues in animals through the pathway known as reverse cholesterol transport (RCT). RCT is the only known mechanism by which excess cholesterol can be removed from tissues and has therefore received considerable attention as a therapeutic target for prevention and reversal of atherosclerosis. The data, presented at the Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology Annual Meeting in Chicago, compared the effects of several therapeutic approaches on RCT in real-time, in living animals. KineMed also presented data from its researchers and their collaborators at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, San Francisco demonstrating that KineMed’s technology successfully measured levels of efflux of cholesterol from the tissues in human subjects.
The data were presented in posters titled, -- “Measurement of Cholesterol Efflux and Global Reverse Cholesterol Transport Rates in Vivo with Stable Isotopes”, which described in detail the proprietary method for measuring the flow of cholesterol molecules out of tissues into the bloodstream and then from the bloodstream out of the body, and -- “Effect of Reconstituted HDL on Cholesterol Efflux from Tissues in Vivo”. This poster showed that infusion of CSL-111 (provided by CSL Behring AG), which is reconstituted high density lipoprotein (rHDL) particles, into animals increased efflux of cholesterol out of tissues into the bloodstream.
In addition, data were presented in an invited plenary session talk by Marc Hellerstein M.D., Ph.D., Co-founder and Chief of the Scientific Advisory Board of KineMed, as well as Professor (Calloway Chair of Human Nutrition), University of California, Berkeley, and Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco. The talk was titled,
-- “Measuring Reverse Cholesterol Transport and Insulin-Mediated Glucose Utilization In Vivo in Animal Models and Humans: Pathway Fluxes as Therapeutic Targets”. This presentation reviewed the role of critical pathways, including RCT, in drug discovery and development.
Dr. Hellerstein stated, “The importance of measuring changes in RCT in the intact animal or patient is highlighted by recent clinical failures in the HDL/atherosclerosis field, which have left a therapeutic void. KineMed’s technology can become an integral part of efforts to discover and develop promising agents that treat and reverse atherosclerosis, thereby positioning KineMed as a leader in this field.”
RCT is one of the many pathways for which KineMed has the unique technology and IP to measure in intact animals and patients. The RCT technology is currently being used by KineMed and its Pharma partners in preclinical studies as a target for screening candidate compounds, validating target activity, selecting among leads, and optimizing treatment regimes. The Company is also working with Pharma partners in clinical trials to rapidly demonstrate on-mechanism therapeutic effect in patients.
About KineMed, Inc.
KineMed, Inc. (“KineMed” or the “Company”) is a drug discovery and development company employing its proprietary translational medicine technology (AquaTag(TM) and KineMarker(TM)) to both identify active drug candidates preclinically and confirm their therapeutic activity and dose response in first-in-man studies. KineMed’s technology expedites the drug development process and provides real-time insight into conditions including metabolic disorders, cancer, and diseases of inflammation and neurodegeneration.
KineMed is working to develop drugs both on its own and with pharmaceutical collaborators in therapeutic focus areas where it can demonstrate functional modulation of specific biological pathways that mediate disease. The Company has multiple development programs with more than a dozen major pharmaceutical companies, including Bayer, Merck, Merck KGaA, Organon and Roche.
For further information about KineMed, please visit: http://www.kinemed.com/
KineMed, Inc.
CONTACT: Brent Vaughan, Chief Business Officer of KineMed, Inc.,+1-510-655-6525, ext. 110, or media, Justin Jackson of Burns McClellan,+1-212-213-0006, or jjackson@burnsmc.com, for KineMed, Inc.
Web site: http://www.kinemed.com/
