New marker points in the right direction for GSK heart drug
pharmafile | April 13, 2006 | News story | |
New research suggests a little-understood chemical in the human body could play a key role in causing heart attacks and strokes – opening the way for new drugs to target it.
Treatment of cardiovascular disease is now more sophisticated than ever, with millions of patients around the world benefiting from drugs such as Pfizer's Lipitor and Sanofi-Aventis' Plavix, but no new breakthroughs have emerged in the field for some time.
Now GlaxoSmithKline says it has proven that an enzyme called Lp-PLA2 is directly associated with heart disease, potentially paving the way for the next generation of medicines.
The company already has one drug candidate, darapladib, in phase II/III development, which works by inhibiting the action of the enzyme.
The results are a positive step forward in providing the proof of concept behind the novel drug, but its cutting edge profile means more research is still needed before it can be approved.
For now, researchers say they can only demonstrate the Lp-PLA2 is an accurate and independent marker of heart disease after a patient has suffered a heart attack, and that monitoring its levels will also help predict the risk of further heart attacks or death.
The data was derived from a head to head study of two statins (pravastatin and atorvastatin), and GSK hope the work will help it to eventually develop a drug to target the enzyme and, in turn, prevent heart attacks.
"Despite advances in cardiovascular medicine and therapeutics, residual risk for cardiac events remains a significant concern for patients and physicians. This research adds to the rapidly emerging field of Lp-PLA2 enzyme levels as an independent predictor of heart disease," said Lawson Macartney, head of GSK's cardiovascular and metabolic medicine research.
He concluded: "Clinical trials will help determine whether Lp-PLA2 inhibition will prove to be a viable therapeutic target, and GlaxoSmithKline is committed to innovative research that may one day save lives through early detection and intervention of inflammatory markers such as Lp-PLA2."
Most heart attacks and strokes occur when a build up of plaque on the walls of arteries ruptures. Lp-PLA2 is an enzyme found in blood and atherosclerotic plaque, and GSK's scientists hope that by inhibiting its action, they can prevent patients suffering a potentially deadly heart attack or stroke.
