Alliance to Develop Drugs for Heart Disease

A collaboration that could lead to new drugs to treat heart failure and hypertension has been announced by Cytopia (Rensselaer, NY, USA) and Myomatrix Therapeutics (Melbourne, Australia).

Myomatrix has worldwide exclusive rights to develop and commercialize therapies for certain cardiovascular diseases by inhibiting a kinase target. The approach has been validated in animal studies and represents a novel mechanism for the treatment of heart failure and hypertension. Cytopia has worldwide exclusive rights to several kinase targets and states that the company has already developed highly potent and specific inhibitors.

"Under the jointly funded work program, Cytopia will provide its specific inhibitors to Myomatrix for testing in animal models, and the data generated will be jointly owned,” said Dr. Kevin Healey, head of Cytopia. "The first product is being targeted at a chronic ‘orphan disease' that has no current treatment and a potential market of U.S.$500 million. The next products will target heart failure and hypertension.”

Cytopia is a drug discovery company focused on the treatment of immune diseases and cancer. Myomatrix is a biopharmaceutical company with core expertise in developing therapies for cardiovascular diseases.