ScinoPharm Taiwan, in collaboration with pharmaceutical products manufacturer CVie Therapeutics, has launched a discovery and development collaboration to identify the new generation compound to heart failure treatment Istaroxime.
CVie's Istaroxime treatment is currently in late Phase IIb trials in Italy and China and is a luso-inotropic agent under development to treat acute decompensated heart failure.
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Istaroxime has a dual mode of action, combining inotropic (myocyte contraction) and lusotropic (myocyte relaxation) effects.
ScinoPharm CEO Dr Yung Fa Chen said: “This collaboration with CVie signals ScinoPharm's strategic move into the new drug development field. From both scientific and business perspectives, we are very excited for this alliance.”
Once recognised, the new generation compound will possess oral bioavailability while retaining Istaroxime's unique dual luso-inotropic function.
The successful candidate for the compound is expected to be useful for patients with both acute and chronic heart failure.
CVie president and COO Dr Lit-Fui Lau said: “The partnership between ScinoPharm and CVie will take advantage of the strengths of both companies toward the discovery of the orally available Istaroxime analogs for the treatment of acute and chronic heart failure.”
Under the deal, ScinoPharm will offer medicinal chemistry design and synthesis, and CVie will apply its comprehensive biological knowledge to screen and identify the new candidate.
Once the new compound enters the clinical development phases, ScinoPharm will become the primary chemistry, manufacturing, and controls (CMC) service provider in order to provide material for clinical phases and beyond.
