New Nanoparticle Therapy Reduces Damage After Heart Attack

CHICAGO, Jan. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Cour Pharmaceutical Development Company, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, announced today the publication of new data in Science Translational Medicine that shows the potential of its proprietary therapy, known as Immune Modifying Nanoparticles (IMP), to reduce inflammation and promote tissue repair and regeneration in patients who have suffered a heart attack.  More than 750,000 patients suffer from heart attacks & related complications each year.

When animal models were injected with IMPs after a heart attack, the size of the heart lesions were reduced by 50 percent allowing the heart to pump significantly more blood.  IMP treatment showed reduced inflammation and promoted regeneration in all models tested.

"This is the first therapy that specifically targets a key driver of the inflammation that occurs after a heart attack," said Daniel Getts, Chief Scientific Officer at Cour. "There is no other therapy on the horizon that can protect the heart from the aggressive immune cell infiltration that causes so much damage."

Originally discovered in the laboratory of Professor Nicholas King, at the University of Sydney, the particles are proprietary compositions based on poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid, a biocompatible and biodegradable substance already approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in a range of therapeutics. 

"IMP therapy represents a significant step toward the next generation of immune modulating agents," said John J. Puisis, CEO of Cour.  He added, "Our first priority as a company is to bring IMPs to patients who've suffered acute myocardial infarction, where we see a tremendous opportunity to improve clinical outcomes and quality of life."

The therapy also showed efficacy in numerous other inflammatory models, specifically in West Nile Virus, Encephalitis, Peritonitis, Multiple Sclerosis, and Inflammatory Bowel Disease - all with the potential to benefit patients suffering from these inflammatory diseases.

Getts and King are corresponding authors on the paper, which was published January 15, 2014 in Science Translational Medicine.   

For more information, visit www.courpharma.com 

SOURCE Cour Pharmaceutical Development Company, Inc.