A potential new drug to improve the long-term outcomes for heart attack patients will be trialled in the UK under a new agreement.
The Phase IIb LIBERATE study will test the tolerance and the efficacy of glenzocimab 1000mg to reduce heart damage following a myocardial infarction (MI).
According to the partnership between the University of Birmingham and Acticor Biotech, the trial will take place in two hospitals in the UK: the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham and the Northern General Hospital, Sheffield.
The Birmingham trial will be run by the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. The team will see whether glenzocimab will reduce the amount of dead heart tissue following an ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), the most serious type of heart attack.
Professor Jon Townend, Consultant Cardiologist at University Hospitals Birmingham, Honorary Professor of Cardiology in the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences at the University of Birmingham, and Chief Investigator of the trial said: “Although immediate opening of the blocked coronary artery by angioplasty in cases of heart attack is now routine, significant heart damage still occurs.
“Glenzocimab reduces clot formation and laboratory findings have been impressive. There are strong reasons to believe that this new drug may improve outcomes and this randomised blinded trial is the right way to test this theory.”
Glenzocimab is a humanised monoclonal antibody (mAb) fragment directed against the platelet Glycoprotein VI (GPVI), which was developed by Acticor Biotech for the treatment of cardiovascular emergencies, including stroke.
