December 16, 2010 - Viron Therapeutics Inc. announced that the results of Viron's Phase 2a trial for VT-111 were published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions. In the study led by Dr. Jean-Claude Tardif, Director of the Research Centre at the Montreal Heart Institute, VT-111, also known as Serp-1, met both its primary and secondary endpoints of safety and biological activity in Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) patients receiving coronary stents. VT-111 is a protein produced by the myxoma virus that allows the virus to lower its host's inflammatory response to infection."Although the use of cardiovascular stents have dramatically improved the outcomes for patients with occlusive coronary artery disease, numerous studies have shown that the procedure itself can cause what is termed peri-procedural myocardial injury (PMI)," said James Rae, CEO of Viron. "A recent review in the European Heart Journal shows that 30% of patients receiving coronary stents sustain an injury to the heart tissue arising from the procedure itself and the biomarkers most useful in measuring this cardiac injury are CK-MB and Troponin I. Viron's Phase 2a trial showed a statistically significant, dose-dependent reduction in these two key biomarkers of cardiac damage, at multiple timepoints, with a particularly potent effect in the first 24 hours after the placement of the stent. If the incidence of PMI was reduced, clinical outcomes would improve for many of the almost 3 million patients each year that receive cardiac stents in North America and Europe." ... Viron Therapeutics' Press Release -
