WALTHAM, Mass., Sept. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Pericor Science, a privately held development-stage biopharmaceutical company, today announced the findings from an ex vivo study (pig coronary artery) demonstrating that the company’s new compound covalently attaches to the inner lumen of the coronary artery with uniform mural coverage and penetration, and retains its therapeutic activity by binding to thrombin. Thrombin is an enzyme that plays a central role in the formation of blood clots and cell growth in the injured coronary artery.
While the company is actively engaged in further preclinical studies, Pericor researchers believe this development will result in a drug for interventional cardiology that will prevent thrombosis and restenosis, and not retard healing of the blood vessel.
Restenosis is the re-narrowing of a coronary artery after it has been treated with angioplasty or stenting. Recent data presented by two Swiss studies suggest a small but significant increase in the rate of death and myocardial infarction (heart attack) possibly due to thrombosis (a blood clot) in patients treated with drug-eluting stents. The Food and Drug Administration and the stent manufacturers are reviewing data to determine the extent of the problem.
“We are excited at the promise of this development, especially in light of recent industry follow-on studies suggesting that thrombosis remains a problem for some patients who have been given a drug-eluting stent,” said Carl A. Schaad, President and CEO of Pericor. “This problem is especially pronounced for those patients who, for whatever reasons, must discontinue taking Plavix, a drug prescribed to prevent blood clots after stent implant. We believe our TransLink(TM) platform forms the basis for an entirely new class of compounds for local delivery not only for interventional cardiology, but a broad range of indications.”
“Pericor’s research is groundbreaking in that they are targeting a new therapy aimed at preventing thrombosis and restenosis, which have been very thorny problems for physicians and manufacturers,” said Dr. Hirdey Bhathal, a veteran executive at stenting companies. “This deserves greater investigation to determine how it can provide commercial solutions to the problem of delivering efficacious drugs to the appropriate site over an extended period of time.”
About Pericor
Pericor Science is a privately-held biopharmaceutical company based in Waltham, Mass., developing novel therapeutics based upon a discovery that enables the covalent attachment of therapeutic agents to a broad range of tissues throughout the human body -- the TransLink(TM) System. Pericor has developed a platform to redesign medicines with markedly improved bioavailability, durability, efficacy and/or safety utilizing the body’s own physiological mechanisms.
The Company gained validation of its technology when PCS 101 for Dry Eye was licensed to a major pharmaceutical company in 2005. Pericor’s current lead compound, PTI 101 is a direct thrombin inhibitor targeting thrombosis and stenosis. For more information, visit http://www.pericor.com or email info@pericor.com
Pericor Science
CONTACT: Jim McManus of McManus Communications, +1-508-816-3061,Jgmcmanus2@msn.com
Web site: http://www.pericor.com/
