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7 March 2005
PharmaLinks, the biomedical research collaboration between the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde, has signed a £9M pound deal to develop technology to help the victims of heart disease the UKs biggest killer.
Inncardio Inc will develop a drug-eluting stent making use of a novel compound created by university scientists in a bid to prevent restenosis, which causes problems in many patients following heart surgery.
Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the major cause of death and ill health in the UK. The main treatments are: angioplasty (a technique used to widen a constricted artery); stent placement (insertion of a tiny mechanical device to hold the blood vessel wall open); and by-pass surgery.
Angioplasty and stent placement are preferred due to lower costs and higher patient acceptability, and it is estimated that 1,000,000 coronary angioplasty operations are carried out world-wide per year. Many patients, however, continue to have problems due to restenosis when cells grow in the artery wall near the stent causing a re-narrowing of the artery and the recurrence of the symptoms of angina.
PharmaLinks scientists discovered that a compound found in the marigold plant slows down the cell regrowth, and initial results were convincing enough to interest Inncardio. The company will continue the development work in Glasgow tapping into the expertise available through PharmaLinks, with the aim being to develop a new product which will significantly improve angioplasty effectiveness.
Inncardio, which is owned by pharmaceutical development organisation Bioaccelerate Inc will benefit from certain exclusive commercial rights from the project, and the PharmaLinks universities will receive a combination of research funding, development milestones and royalty payments. The three-year research programme will end with a clinical trial.
Alan Harvey, Co-Director of the PharmaLinks initiative, said, "We are delighted that a key piece of our technology is moving forward. We have been impressed by Inncardios strategy for developing products based on university research, and we think the deal also shows the value of multidisciplinary research collaborations available to companies through PharmaLinks."
Bernard Ross, Head of Bioaccelerate's Cardiovascular Division and CEO of Inncardio, commented: "The drug eluting stent market is estimated to achieve annual sales in excess of $5 billion by 2008. We have been very impressed with the breadth of cardiovascular, pharmaceutical and clinical expertise found at the Universities via PharmaLinks.
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