VIA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (VIAP)

[mlkrborn]

VIA 0.04 PHARMACEUTICALS INITIATES PHASE I DYSLIPIDEMIA TRIAL. Amazing still alive and kicking.


Jun 13, 2011 (Datamonitor via COMTEX) -- VIA Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company, has announced dosing of the first healthy volunteers in a Phase I clinical trial of VIA-3196, the company's orally administered, liver-directed thyroid hormone, or THR, beta receptor agonist for the treatment of high LDL cholesterol and other dyslipidemias including high triglycerides and elevated Lp(a).

As a beta-selective THR agonist, VIA-3196 is designed to specifically target receptors in the liver involved in metabolism and cholesterol regulation, and avoid side effects associated with THR activation outside the liver. In preclinical studies, VIA-3196 demonstrated a rapid reduction of non-HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and fatty liver, and synergistic activity when used with statins.

The Phase I clinical trial of VIA-3196 is an ascending single-dose study to evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of VIA-3196 in healthy subjects. The single-center trial will enroll approximately seventy-two subjects and is being conducted by Cetero Research at its clinical study site in Fargo, ND. VIA-3196 was first developed by Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. and inlicensed by VIA Pharmaceuticals in December 2008.

"There remains a significant unmet need for new and more effective therapies that reduce the lipids linked to heart disease, particularly among high risk patients whose LDL cholesterol is not controlled by current therapies," said Rebecca Taub, MD, Senior vice president, R&D for VIA Pharmaceuticals. "By targeting a distinct mechanism of lipid metabolism, VIA-3196 has the potential to address hypercholesterolemia and other dyslipidemias when given alone or in combination with other lipid lowering agents. We are pleased that the first volunteers have been dosed with the study drug and no adverse events have been reported."
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