Rensselaer, NY, March 3, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pulmokine announced today that it has entered into an investment agreement with Broadview Ventures for $1 Million. Proceeds will be used to advance Pulmokine's lead candidate, PK10571, into Phase 1 clinical trials in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).
Dr. Lawrence S. Zisman, CEO of Pulmokine, stated, "Preclinical results of our inhaled PDGF receptor inhibitor are quite compelling, showing a meaningful decrease in pulmonary pressures in animal models of PAH. Importantly, by interfering with the PDGF receptor pathway, our lead candidate has the potential to address an underlying cause of PAH, not merely to alleviate its symptoms."
"We are very pleased to expand our cardiovascular portfolio with the addition of Pulmokine's PAH program which we believe has the potential to be a truly disease-modifying treatment for patients with this life threatening disease" said Christopher Colecchi, Broadview Ventures' managing director. "We are especially pleased that this promising science is also being supported by the NIH."
PK10571 is a potent inhibitor of the PDGF receptor kinase, designed to reduce and potentially reverse the pulmonary cell proliferation that leads to PAH. Preclinical studies have shown that treatment with PK10571 reduces pulmonary artery systolic pressure, a key measure of PAH treatment. Pulmokine expects to submit an Investigational New Drug application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the fourth quarter of 2015, and commence Phase 1 trials following the clearance of that application.
Development of PK10571 is also funded by a phase II SBIR grant from the NIH, and a Stage B Vascular Interventions and Therapeutic Advances (VITA) contract from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), a division of the National Institutes of Health.
About PAH
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a pulmonary vascular orphan disease characterized by high pressure in the blood supply to the lungs. PAH is a progressive disease associated with a high morbidity and mortality. It is caused by a constellation of diseases that affect the pulmonary vasculature. These include primary genetic abnormalities, systemic sclerosis (scleroderma), mixed connective tissue disease, uncorrected congenital heart disease, portal hypertension, HIV infection, and other disorders.
The pathology of PAH consists of proliferation of cells in small pulmonary arterioles. The cells that overgrow within the small blood vessels of the lung in patients with PAH include endothelial cells and myofibroblasts. This abnormal cell overgrowth provides a rationale to develop anti-proliferative kinase inhibitors for this disease.
About Pulmokine
Pulmokine is a privately held biopharmaceutical company. The mission of Pulmokine is to develop new treatments for pulmonary hypertension and related disorders. Pulmokine has an exclusive license from Gilead to develop a portfolio of PDGFR inhibitors for PAH. Funding sources include equity investment and NIH grants and contracts. Pulmokine is now looking for additional investment to support a phase 2 clinical trial of PK10571 in PAH patients. To learn more about investment opportunities in Pulmokine please contact us.
About Broadview Ventures
In 2008 the Leducq Family Trust established Broadview Ventures, Inc. with the mission to accelerate the development of promising technology in cardiovascular and neurovascular disease through targeted investments in and support of early stage ventures. By making funding available at a critical moment in the development of new technology, the Leducq Family Trust is taking a leadership position in venture philanthropy by finding creative ways to support translational research in order to bring the advancements of science to the care of patients. To learn more about Broadview Ventures, please visit www.broadviewventures.org.