Alnylam Presents Positive Results from the KARDIA-2 Phase 2 Study of Zilebesiran Added to Standard of Care Antihypertensives in Patients with Inadequately Controlled Hypertension

 – Study Met Primary Endpoint Demonstrating Clinically Significant Additive Reductions in Ambulatory Systolic Blood Pressure of Up to 12.1 mmHg Across Three Independent Study Cohorts at Month 3 –

– A Single Dose of Zilebesiran Resulted in Clinically Significant Additive Reductions in Office Systolic Blood Pressure at Month 3 and in Time-Adjusted Office Systolic Blood Pressure at Month 6 Across Three Independent Study Cohorts –

– Zilebesiran Demonstrated an Encouraging Safety and Tolerability Profile When Added to Standard of Care Antihypertensives –

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Apr. 7, 2024-- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALNY), the leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced positive results from the KARDIA-2 Phase 2 study evaluating the efficacy and safety of a single subcutaneous dose of zilebesiran when added to one of three standard of care antihypertensives including a thiazide-like diuretic (indapamide), calcium channel blocker (amlodipine) or angiotensin receptor blocker (olmesartan). Zilebesiran is an investigational RNAi therapeutic targeting liver-expressed angiotensinogen (AGT) in development for the treatment of hypertension with the potential for biannual dosing. The results were presented as a late-breaking clinical trial at the 2024 American College of Cardiology (ACC) Annual Scientific Session. The Company previously announced positive topline results from the KARDIA-2 study in March 2024.

The KARDIA-2 study achieved its primary endpoint demonstrating clinically and statistically significant additive, placebo-adjusted reductions of up to 12.1 mmHg in 24-hour mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) measured by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) when zilebesiran was added to a thiazide-like diuretic, calcium channel blocker or angiotensin receptor blocker, measured independently at Month 3. The study achieved the key secondary endpoint evaluated at Month 3, demonstrating clinically significant additive reductions in office SBP across all three independent cohorts. At Month 6, zilebesiran demonstrated clinically significant and sustained placebo-adjusted, time-adjusted reductions in office SBP when added to indapamide, amlodipine and olmesartan, despite the addition of rescue antihypertensives at Month 3. In addition, zilebesiran resulted in clinically significant placebo-adjusted, time-adjusted reductions in 24-hour mean SBP, assessed by ABPM, when added to indapamide and amlodipine, sustained to Month 6. A non-statistically significant result was observed when zilebesiran was added to the maximum dose of olmesartan when evaluated by time-adjusted change from baseline in 24-hour mean SBP, assessed by ABPM at Month 6... Alnylam Pharmaceuticals' Press Release -

Venus Medtech VenusP-Valve transcatheter pulmonic valve replacement system granted Health Canada approval

Hangzhou, China, Jan. 31, 2024 --Venus Medtech (02500. HK), a leading provider of integrated solutions for transcatheter structural heart valvular therapies in China, announced today that, VenusP-Valve, the company's in-house developed innovative transcatheter pulmonic valve replacement (TPVR) system, cleared approval from Health Canada.

As the first self-expanding TPVR product approved in China and Europe, VenusP-Valve carries remarkable clinical value. Uniquely designed with both flared ends, the product ensures the blood flow of branchial artery with bare stents at the outflow end. It provides a stable multi-point anchoring system and enables easy delivery, with no need for pre-stenting before the procedure. Available in a variety of specifications with extensive applicability, VenusP-Valve is able to meet the needs of 85% of patients in the case of large RVOT.

"VenusP-Valve is able to eliminate pulmonary regurgitation in a wide range of anatomies," said Prof. Lee Benson, Director of Cardiac Diagnostic and Interventional Unit at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada. "Available in different sizes and specifications, the product offers extensive applicability to meet the clinical needs of a larger pulmonary regurgitation patient population."

Clinical data reveals that VenusP-Valve demonstrates safety and efficacy on par with similar products, and excels in aspects such as rates of reintervention and arrhythmia. According to three-year follow-up data of the European clinical trial, the success rate for TPVR with VenusP-Valve is 100%. All-cause mortality and reintervention rates were zero. In addition, no moderate or severe pulmonary regurgitation was observed. Paravalvular leakage and tricuspid regurgitation were mild or below in 96.87% of subjects.The data suggest excellent performance, robust safety and reliability, and drastic and steady improvements in patients' cardiac function.

As the company's international flagship product, VenusP-Valve received CE marking under the Medical Devices Regulation (MDR) on April 8th, 2022, becoming the first Class III implantable cardiovascular device approved under the new MDR. In 2023, after receiving Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), VenusP-Valve gained its first ethical approval in the territory, setting the stage for the VenusP-Valve PROTEUS pivotal clinical trial. More recently, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) also granted coverage approval for the PROTEUS study... Venus Medtech's Press Release -

Sirius Therapeutics Begins Phase 1 Clinical Trial of Next-Generation, Long-Acting Factor XI siRNA Anticoagulant for Treatment of Thromboembolic Disorders

Sirius Therapeutics Begins Phase 1 Clinical Trial of Next-Generation, Long-Acting Factor XI siRNA Anticoagulant for Treatment of Thromboembolic Disorders

SAN DIEGO, CA & SHANGHAI, February 2nd 2024 - Sirius Therapeutics, announced it has dosed the first subject in a Phase 1, first-in-human clinical trial in Australia of SRSD107 on January 30th 2024, its next generation siRNA therapeutic targeting coagulation Factor XI (FXI), for the prevention and treatment of thromboembolic disorders. SRSD107 is the second clinical candidate in the company’s portfolio of next generation siRNA therapeutics to treat cardiovascular diseases. The company recently began clinical trials of SRSD101 in China for the treatment of dyslipidemia following IND clearance from the China National Medical Products Administration. 

“This trial is based on in vivo studies that demonstrated a nearly 100% reduction of FXI levels for up to 6 months, without bleeding events, after a single subcutaneous dose,” said Dr. Qunsheng Ji, Sirius Therapeutics’ Chief Executive Officer. “The trial will provide an opportunity to evaluate SRSD107’s potential as a differentiated therapeutic for these common disorders globally.”

The SRSD107 Phase 1 study, which is being conducted in healthy volunteers in Australia, will evaluate SRSD107’s safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics at single ascending doses and multiple ascending doses... Sirius Therapeutics' Press Release -

Sensydia Completes Fifth Study for Heart-Sound AI

Completion of this 50-subject study is a key milestone on the path to delivering the first device for non-invasive and accurate measurement of pulmonary pressure

Los Angeles, CA – January 16, 2024 – Non-invasive cardiac assessment company Sensydia announced that it has completed its 50-subject development study at the University of Minnesota (UMN). This study was conducted at UMN to collect data for its innovative AI-powered, non-invasive Cardiac Performance System (CPS) that uses heart sound analysis to enable earlier detection and more effective therapy guidance for patients suffering from heart failure and pulmonary hypertension.  

Sensydia is developing the CPS platform, which uses ultra-sensitive biosensors to provide clinicians with rapid, non-invasive measurement of ejection fraction, cardiac output, pulmonary artery pressure, and pulmonary capillary wedge pressure in a handheld device. Knowledge of these parameters is critical when caring for individuals with heart failure and pulmonary hypertension. To obtain these measurements today, patients must undergo echocardiography and invasive right heart catheterization, which are resource intensive, restricted to medical facilities, and only provide snapshot data. In contrast, CPS measurements are fast, safe, may be repeated as frequently as indicated, and can be performed essentially anywhere with minimal training. 

"This is Sensydia’s fifth successful study, and we will continue to collect data across leading cardiac care institutions to improve the performance and utility of the artificial intelligence algorithms that power our breakthrough CPS platform," said Anthony Arnold, President and CEO of Sensydia. “We’re working to overcome today’s barriers in acquiring vital hemodynamic measures for monitoring and managing cardiac patients, and we appreciate the participation of cardiologists and staff at University of Minnesota in working toward this goal.” 

“The CPS platform shows promise as a non-invasive alternative to routine echocardiography and right-heart catheterization. It has the potential to positively impact the way patients with heart failure are monitored, managed, and ultimately to improve clinical outcomes,” said Tamas Alexy, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine and Principal Investigator, UMN Medical School. “These measurements are essential in the diagnosis and ongoing management of patients with heart failure as well as pulmonary hypertension. We are pleased to help evaluate Sensydia’s platform utilizing acoustic sensing technology and advanced AI algorithms, reducing the need for repeat echocardiograms and invasive hemodynamic assessments.”... Sensydia’s Press Release -

Orchestra BioMed Announces Initiation of BACKBEAT Pivotal Study of AVIM Therapy in Hypertensive Pacemaker Patients

Orchestra BioMed and Medtronic, Inc., have an exclusive strategic collaboration for development and commercialization of AVIM therapy for hypertensive pacemaker population, which is estimated to be more than 750,000 patients annually worldwide

NEW HOPE, Pa., Jan. 08, 2024 -- Orchestra BioMed Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: OBIO, “Orchestra BioMed” or the “Company”), a biomedical company accelerating high-impact technologies to patients through risk-reward sharing partnerships, today announced the first patient was randomized in the BACKBEAT pivotal study in late December 2023. The BACKBEAT pivotal study will evaluate the efficacy and safety of atrioventricular interval modulation (“AVIM”) therapy (also known as BackBeat CNT™), for the treatment of pacemaker-indicated patients with uncontrolled hypertension despite the use of antihypertensive medications.

AVIM therapy is an investigational patented bioelectronic therapy, administered using a standard dual-chamber pacemaker, designed to immediately, substantially and persistently reduce blood pressure. Orchestra BioMed and Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) (“Medtronic”) formed a strategic collaboration for the development and commercialization of AVIM therapy for hypertensive pacemaker patients in July 2022. If approved, Medtronic will have exclusive global rights to commercialize AVIM-enabled pacing systems for this target population, and Orchestra BioMed will share in the revenues generated from Medtronic sales of the AVIM-enabled pacing systems.

“Our collaboration with Orchestra BioMed will explore how cardiac pacing can go beyond management of bradycardia and conduction disease to treat hypertension as well,” said Robert C. Kowal, M.D., Ph.D., vice president and general manager of Cardiac Pacing Therapies within the Medtronic Cardiac Rhythm Management operating unit. “Our goal is to deliver the best possible outcomes for patients; this study will help us understand the potential role of AVIM therapy in treating hypertension, a major source of cardiovascular illness and a comorbidity in more than 70% of patients receiving pacing therapy.”

Suman Pasupuleti, M.D., from Citrus Cardiology Consultants, the first site to randomize a patient in the BACKBEAT pivotal study, commented: “Blood pressure management with currently available treatments is especially challenging in many elderly patients who also are prone to side effects from medications. This leaves a gap in the care of these patients and increases their risk for heart attack, stroke and heart failure progression. We are excited to be among the first to enroll patients in the BACKBEAT study, which will evaluate the efficacy and safety of this therapy in patients with high blood pressure who also need pacemakers.”

“We are thrilled to announce the initiation of the BACKBEAT pivotal study. This is an essential milestone as we evaluate how this therapy may benefit pacemaker patients who confront the mortality and morbidity risks of elevated blood pressure,” commented David Hochman, chairman, chief executive officer and founder of Orchestra BioMed. “We have activated multiple clinical sites and are screening patients in the U.S. and Europe. We are grateful to the clinical sites, our team and Medtronic for their dedication to finalizing all the study initiation deliverables. Most importantly, we are thankful to the patients who will participate in this landmark study.”

The BACKBEAT pivotal study is a global, multi-center, prospective, randomized, double-blind study investigating the efficacy and safety of AVIM therapy in patients who have recently undergone implantation of a Medtronic dual-chamber cardiac pacemaker and have uncontrolled hypertension despite the use of antihypertensive medications. Orchestra BioMed is actively screening patients for enrollment in the BACKBEAT pivotal study. Site activations are expected to continue throughout 2024 with a target of activating approximately 80 centers in the U.S. and Europe. The study will randomize approximately 500 patients 1:1 to AVIM therapy combined with continued medical therapy (treatment) or continued medical therapy and standard pacing alone (control). The study’s primary efficacy endpoint will determine at three months post-randomization whether AVIM-treated patients experience a statistically significant reduction in daily average blood pressure (mean 24-hour ambulatory systolic blood pressure or “aSBP”) as compared to control patients. The primary safety endpoint will determine at three months post-randomization whether AVIM-treated patients experience serious adverse device effects that are not anticipated with cardiac pacing. Double-blind follow up will continue through 12 months to enable the collection of additional clinical endpoints. All patients will be eligible to cross over upon completion of the 12-month blinded follow-up phase.

The BACKBEAT pivotal study investigational device exemption (“IDE”) was supported by encouraging results from MODERATO II, a prospective, multi-center, randomized, double-blind, pilot study of pacemaker patients with persistent hypertension conducted in Europe. MODERATO II showed that patients treated with AVIM therapy experienced net reductions of 8.1 mmHg in 24-hour aSBP and 12.3 mmHg in office systolic blood pressure (oSBP) at six months when compared to control patients. There were no major adverse cardiac events in the treatment group, compared to three events in three patients in the control group (0.0% vs. 14.3%).1

More information on the BACKBEAT pivotal study can be found at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06059638 - Orchestra BioMed's Press Release -

Nanowear Announces FDA 510(k) Clearance for AI-enabled Continuous Blood Pressure Monitoring and Hypertension Diagnostic Management: SimpleSense-BP

 NEW YORK, NY, January 4, 2024 – Nanowear, a leader in healthcare-at-home remote diagnostics, announced that its nanotechnology-enabled wearable and software platform, SimpleSense™, has received FDA 510(k) clearance for a novel AI-enabled Software-as-a-Medical Device (SaMD). As the first non-invasive, cuffless, continuous blood pressure monitor, and diagnostic, SimpleSense-BP provides a transformational tool in clinical diagnostic management of hypertension and is additive to the wearable platform’s previously cleared cardiopulmonary diagnostics.

“This FDA clearance represents an exciting and differentiating moment for Nanowear. Accelerated by the pandemic, the market has been eagerly searching for reliable, clinical-grade wearable, and data service solutions that find product market fit with the following three attributes: at-home, utilizing AI, and a proven team that executes,” says Venk Varadan, CEO and Co-founder of Nanowear, emphasizing the company’s distinction as the world’s only nanotechnology-based embedded sensor platform fueling irreproducible AI algorithms. “This SaMD is just the first example of what our nanotechnology and AI is capable of, in understanding the individualized risk signatures and cardiopulmonary care pathways of each patient, materially enabling precision medicine.”

With its fourth FDA 510(k) clearance, alongside 13 awarded and 12 pending patents covering its nanotechnology, scaled nanosensor manufacturing, multi-parametric wearable, software platform, ingestion pipeline, and AI algorithms in a closed-loop ecosystem, Nanowear’s SimpleSenseTM is uniquely positioned in the market: the platform is indicated for use at-home, in healthcare facilities, and clinical research. The novel 4-decision tree algorithmic model, SimpleSense-BP, was tested in three study arms with both training and validation performed in independent geographies and demographic populations mirroring the most recent US census and generalizability to the entire hypertensive population. SimpleSense-BP is validated to track changes of > +/- 15mmHg systolic and +/- 10mmHg diastolic blood pressures over a continuous recording period across all classes of hypertension, via its wearable undergarment and AI platform. 

NAMSA, the leading cardiovascular MedTech clinical research organization worldwide, sees Nanowear’s most recent clearance and indication for use as differentiating in customizing clinical research, a $50bn+ market with significant cost increases and requisite emphasis on real-world data reliability since the pandemic. “We often talk about whitecoat syndrome limiting our ability to understand the effect of therapeutics in blood pressure or other cardiopulmonary assessments. Whitecoat syndrome is just another word for ‘real-world’ living. Just as a patient’s blood pressure may be high in a 30 second reading due to whitecoat syndrome, the same patient may reduce their blood pressure by breathing calmly for five minutes before the 30 second reading. So, what are we actually learning about that individual patient or the therapeutic applied?” says NAMSA’s Chief Medical Officer, Ken Ouriel MD. “To date, existing healthcare wearables and software platforms are either restricted in scope and time; or are unreliable and unvalidated for what they can diagnose during ‘real-world’ conditions. Nanowear’s continuous device, software platform, and AI algorithms, can transform the way clinical research platforms operate. Efficiency, access, diversity, and standardization across geographies can be enhanced while significantly lowering trial costs. Importantly, sponsors would be able to receive clinically reliable and trended data driven insights; data from the real world; their patients’ homes, their workplace, and a myriad of other settings that comprise everyday life,” Dr. Ouriel concluded... Nanowear's Press Release -