Verseon Corporation Verseon anticoagulants preserve platelet function (9167P)

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RNS Number : 9167P

Verseon Corporation

23 November 2016

 
 For immediate release   23 November 2016 
 

Verseon Corporation

("Verseon" or the "Company")

Preclinical research to be presented at ASH Annual Meeting shows Verseon's new class of anticoagulants prevents thrombosis while preserving platelet function

Fremont, Calif.-Preclinical research from Verseon, to be presented at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting on December 5(th) , 2016, shows that the Company's new class of direct thrombin inhibitors (VE-DTIs) are able to preserve platelet function. These findings provide a rationale why the VE-DTIs have a significantly reduced bleeding risk when compared to current novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs) in preclinical testing.

The key finding of this study is that Verseon's potent, highly selective direct thrombin inhibitors do not disrupt platelet function, while they still block fibrinogen cleavage. NOACs are associated with bleeding risk and are known to strongly inhibit thrombin-mediated platelet activation, hence affecting platelet function. Compared to the NOACs, the VE-DTIs inhibit thrombin-mediated platelet activation from 19- to 900-fold less strongly.

While the VE-DTIs preserve platelet function, preclinical studies show that they act as effective anticoagulants, preventing arterial and venous thromboembolism, as well as thrombin-induced pulmonary embolism, with efficacy comparable to that of existing anticoagulants.

"Maintaining platelet function while preventing thrombosis could be an important approach to reduce bleeding risk. This work may lead to a new generation of safer blood thinners," said Dr. John Deanfield, Professor of Cardiology at University College, London, who chairs Verseon's cardiology advisory board.

Earlier this month at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions, Verseon presented a poster which demonstrated, in preclinical testing, that one of their lead drug candidates shows favorable safety, toxicity, and pharmacokinetics, including very low renal clearance of less than 10%. Low renal clearance would be highly desirable for patients with impaired renal function. Reported renal clearances for current NOACs, apixaban, rivaroxaban, edoxaban, and dabigatran, range from 27% to 80%. The poster also featured a single oral dose tolerability study for this compound, which established a high maximum tolerated dose in vivo. Moreover, a preclinical seven-day repeat dose-range finding study, with oral dosing once a day, indicates that the compound is well tolerated.

Verseon CEO Adityo Prakash, speaking about drug discovery and development at the Financial Times Global Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Conference in London last week, explained that this new class of anticoagulants has been developed using Verseon's proprietary, computationally driven drug discovery platform. "We built our platform to provide better drug candidates through the generation of genuinely novel chemical matter," said Prakash. "The results shown at AHA and to be presented at ASH continue to validate our drug discovery process, which is producing a series of new drug candidates on an ongoing basis. In addition to our anticoagulant program, we currently also have programs on diabetic macular edema and oncology in preclinical testing, all with multiple novel drug candidates."

Verseon's abstract is available on the conference website and will be published in Blood on December 1, 2016. Details of the ASH poster presentation are as follows:

Abstract title: "Novel Class of Direct Thrombin Inhibitors Prevent Thrombosis by Inhibiting Fibrinogen Cleavage While Preserving Platelet Function"

Abstract Number: #3834

Session Name: 332. Antithrombotic Therapy: Poster III

Date and Time: December 5, 2016, 6:00-8:00 p.m.

Location: San Diego Convention Center, Hall GH

About Verseon

Verseon Corporation (www.verseon.com, AIM: VSN) is a technology-based pharmaceutical company that employs its proprietary, computational drug discovery platform to develop novel therapeutics that are unlikely to be found using conventional methods. The Company is applying its platform to a growing drug pipeline and currently has three active drug programs in the areas of anticoagulation, diabetic macular edema, and oncology.

-Ends-

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November 23, 2016 02:03 ET (07:03 GMT)