The Hindu Business Line : Esperion drug for heart syndrome soon

IN a small village near Milan in Italy, the incidence of Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS), a form of heart problem, is virtually absent among the people. One of the reasons ascribed by scientists is that a specific gene in them, perhaps, helps trigger the levels of high density lipids (HDL) or good fat in adequate quantities, providing them the necessary protective cover.

Taking cues from this `scientific enigma', research groups across the world are trying to develop treatment lines. Esperion Therapeutics Inc, a Michigan-based company, has developed a promising drug candidate which triggers the body to up its HDL function, thereby helping to fight ACS.

The company has successfully brought a molecule to phase-2 clinical trials and has done a small study of 40 subjects in the Italian village with exciting results, Dr Charles Bisgaier, Co-founder and currently Vice-President (Pharmacology), told Business Line.

"We feel HDL therapy could be promising and hence the focus. We have three product candidates in the pipeline. While two biopharmaceuticals have entered phase-2, one more is in phase-1 clinical development," said Dr Bisgaier, who was in Hyderabad recently to participate in Pharmacophore 2004, organised by Dr Reddy's Laboratories.

Esperion, which registered sales revenues of $16 billion at the end of 2001, was recently acquired by pharma major Pfizer. It sees big opportunities in discovering the next generation of drugs that help regulate cholesterol levels. At present, patients with ACS are treated with Aspirin, ACE Inhibitors, etc. In the US alone, there are 60 million people with various heart diseases, and every year another 1.25 million are added, Dr Bisgaier said.

Going by current indications, the company hopes to go through the clinical trials and hit the market with a new HDL-enhancing drug in the next few years, he said.

Interestingly, Dr Reddy's Laboratories is also trying to develop candidate drugs using a different approach. Dr Uday Saxena, Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of the company, said, "We are trying to block clogging of the arteries by elevating the HDL levels. A molecule, DRF 10945, has been designed that is targeted to trigger the body to generate more HDL."

Dr Reddy's is aiming to develop therapeutic drugs to halt atherosclerosis in the form of oral pills. Though these are very early days, the company is optimistic of progress in the development programme, he said.

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