Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States and the number one cause of adult disability. Acute ischemic strokes occur when a clot blocks blood flow to the brain. To date, the FDA has approved only one drug treatment, called tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), to treat acute ischemic strokes. tPA helps break up blood clots if given within a 4.5-hour window after the stroke. Unfortunately, tPA’s use is limited due to this brief treatment window and its potential to cause bleeding in the brain and neuronal cell death.
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA and the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, have discovered that an engineered form of the anti-blood clotting protein activated protein A (APC), known as 3K3A-APC, has profound cell-protective and anti-inflammatory activity both. In preclinical studies in stroke models, 3K3A-APC was shown to have strong neuroprotective effects as a monotherapy, and the addition of 3K3A-APC to tPA treatment provides benefits beyond those found with either agent alone. Now a preliminary Phase 2 clinical trial has demonstrated that patients with acute ischemic stroke can safely tolerate high doses of 3K3A-APC and the trial also showed that 3K3A-APC substantially reduced hemorrhage volume and hemorrhage incidence in these patients. Please read the press release by ZZ Biotech of Houston, TX for more details http://www.b3cnewswire.com/201801291715/zz-biotech-announces-preliminary-phase-2-stroke-trial-results-with-3k3a-apc.html and visit the ZZ biotech website at http://zzbiotech.com/wp1/