Verseon has started dosing in a Phase I clinical trial evaluating VE-1902 for the prevention of stroke and heart attack in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD).
VE-1902 is Verseon’s lead drug candidate for a new set of PRecision Oral AntiCoagulants (PROACs). Anticoagulants are commonly known as blood thinners and are used to avert stroke and venous thromboembolism.
The Phase I trial will see Verseon aim to examine the safety, tolerability, and composite hemostatic profile of VE-1902.
Up to 120 healthy subjects are expected to be enrolled in the single-centre, double-blinded, randomised, placebo-controlled trial.
The trial will feature a single ascending dose phase with a food effect cohort, and a multiple ascending dose phase with seven-day repeat dosing.
Its secondary objective is to evaluate the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles of VE-1902.
The trial is being carried out at Nucleus Network in Melbourne, Australia, and is expected to provide results in the last quarter of this year.
Verseon Research and Development (R&D) vice-president Dr David Kita said: “PROACs have the potential to change the standard of care for millions of CAD patients who would benefit from long-term combination therapy with antiplatelet drugs.”
Verseon’s PROACs have demonstrated a combination of efficacy with lower bleeding in various preclinical studies.
PROACs have shown an ability to prevent blood clot formation without disrupting platelet function.
Results indicate that VE-1902 could be used as a safer alternative than currently available therapeutics when provided in combination with one or more antiplatelet agents.
