ProMetic Life Science’s fibrosis-targeting investigational drug PBI-4050 improved pulmonary hypertension (PH), lung remodeling and right ventricular function in mice with heart failure. PBI-4050 also decreased biomarkers for heart disease in patients with metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.
The results were recently presented by ProMetic at the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Annual Meeting in New Orleans.
PH associated with left heart disease (Group 2 PH) is the most common form of the disease. The condition commonly follows a heart attack and may lead to lung remodeling through fibrosis, with progressive worsening of PH and right ventricular function. The development of PH following a heart attack carries a very poor prognosis and there is currently no cure.
A research team investigated the potential benefits of PBI-4050 in heart and lung fibrosis, respiratory function, and lung structural remodeling following a heart attack induced in mice. Two weeks after the induced heart attack, the mice started a three-week treatment period with PBI-4050.
Results showed that PBI-4050 improved PH and right ventricular hypertrophy by reducing lung fibrosis and lung remodeling. The team also observed some improvement in left ventricular function.
“These results strongly suggest that PBI-4050 has the potential to effectively treat the lung remodeling process in patients with Group 2 pulmonary hypertension and improve the right ventricular function,” said Dr. Jocelyn Dupuis, professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Montreal and lead researcher of the study, said in a press release.
PBI-4050 regulates inflammation and fibrosis by reducing pro-fibrotic cytokines. The drug has been shown to have anti-fibrotic activity in several key organs, including the heart, kidneys, lungs and liver. PBI-4050 has proven to be safe and well tolerated, and also capable of reducing lung tissue scarring in animal models.
“The data from this study and several other experiments performed at the Montreal Heart Institute, along with the positive effects of PBI-4050 on several cardiovascular biomarkers in patients with metabolic syndrome, convince me that PBI-4050 may greatly benefit patients suffering from this form of pulmonary hypertension,” said Dr. John Moran, chief medical officer of ProMetic.
ProMetic also recently reported results from its completed Phase 2 study (NCT02562573) showing that treatment with PBI-4050 effectively decreased biomarkers associated with a high risk of heart disease in patients with metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.
In addition, an ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial (NCT02538536) is evaluating the effects of PBI-4050 on lung function, disease progression, and fibrotic/inflammatory biomarkers in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
The company will present additional results at its analyst day on Nov. 21 in New York City.