Cardium's Corgentin Preclinical Program Shows High Levels of Targeting to Acutely Ischemic Heart Muscle Following Intracoronary Infusion

SAN DIEGO, March 11 Cardium Therapeutics(Amex: CXM) announced positive findings from its preclinical study beingconducted by researchers at Emory University, which demonstrated highlyefficient uptake of DNA-based vectors within acutely ischemic myocardium(heart muscle lacking sufficient blood flow as a result of blockage of thecoronary arteries). The study employed an occlusion and reperfusion modelanalogous to a heart attack or acute myocardial infarction, in which thecoronary arteries supplying the heart muscle are initially blocked and laterreopened, as occurs in patients after a heart attack. In that setting,delivery of an adenovector using Cardium's intracoronary administrationtechnique resulted in robust protein expression within acutely ischemic areasof the myocardium that are most at risk for damage following a heart attack.In addition to showing high levels of uptake, there was no evidence of anyincrease in inflammatory responses following intracoronary infusion to theacutely ischemic heart as compared to controls.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080311/LATU021)

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051018/CARDIUMLOGO)

This study was designed to further support the therapeutic potential ofCorgentin(TM) (Ad5IGF-I) to preserve heart tissue and cardiac functionfollowing a heart attack and was conducted at Emory University under supportof an NIH Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant. Corgentin is aDNA-based therapeutic designed to provide localized and sustained cardiacproduction of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) following a singleintracoronary administration in an acute care setting after percutaneouscoronary intervention to restore blood flow in heart attack patients.Numerous studies have shown that ongoing damage to cells within the infarctzone continues to occur even after blood flow has been restored, a phenomenonknown as reperfusion injury. Corgentin is intended to enhance myocardialhealing in and around the infarct zone when used as an adjunct to existingpharmacologic and interventional therapies. Results of the study indicate thatnon-surgical intracoronary infusion of an adenovector carrying a reporter geneto the heart enables robust protein expression in the area of the myocardiumat risk due to ischemia and reperfusion injury. The recently completedpreclinical development study follows an earlier pilot study using a similarmyocardial infarct model in which intracoronary administration of Ad5IGF-I wasfound to preserve heart tissue and function following an acute myocardialinfarction.

"These positive preclinical results confirm that our intracoronaryinfusion approach can be used to successfully deliver therapeutic adenovectorsinto acutely ischemic myocardium such as occurs after a heart attack, at veryhigh efficiency, without the need for any needle injections into themyocardium. Confirmation that non-surgical adenovector delivery through astandard catheter such as those used routinely for angiography can effectivelytarget the acutely diseased heart substantially advances our Corgentindevelopment program," stated Christopher J. Reinhard, Chairman and CEO ofCardium. "The highly effective delivery to acutely ischemic myocardiumfollowing intracoronary infusion extends the findings of high first passuptake of Generx in the hearts of patients with chronic ischemia as observedin the AGENT-1 clinical study, and underscores the potential of theseapproaches to be applied to the treatment of various forms of heart disease."

About Corgentin

Cardium's Corgentin (Ad5IGF-I) preclinical product candidate is anext-generation DNA-based therapeutic using the insulin-like growth factor-Igene carried by an adenovector that is being developed as a potential one-timetreatment to promote the preservation and restoration of heart tissue andcardiac function following a heart attack (acu

Latest Press Release on General News

Precision oncology company Flindr Therapeutics announces €20 million Series A financing to advance first-in-class small molecule inhibitors

V-Bio Ventures leads international syndicate which includes Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc., QBIC Fund, Flanders Future Tech Fund, Curie Capital as well as seed investor...

Rett Syndrome Research Trust Partners with Vivalink to Shift Symptom Assessment Paradigms in Rett Syndrome

Vivalink's remote patient monitoring solutions accelerate research into rare neurological disorder CAMPBELL, Calif. , April 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Vivalink , a leading pro...

World IBS Day - April 19th: Raising Awareness for Everyone with IBS

Debunking myths about Irritable Bowel Syndrome TORONTO , April 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- IBS is a chronic gastrointestinal disorder with symptoms like abdominal pain, bloating,...

Important step taken on the Canada Disability Benefit in Budget 2024, but funding falls short

More work must be done to lift Canadians with disabilities out of poverty TORONTO , April 17, 2024 /CNW/ - The federal government has taken an important step on the Canada Di...

Hydrinity Accelerated Skin Science Introduces MicroFusion Technology and Expands Facial Skincare Line with PRELUDE Facial Treatment Cleanser and HYDRI-C Vitamin C Moisturizer

The Next Generation Technology with the Power to Transform Skin MONROE, La. , April 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Hydrinity Accelerated Skin Science announced today the launch of t...