Date: 2012-01-09
Type of information:
Compound: plasma kallikrein inhibitor
Company: KalVista Pharmaceuticals (UK) JDRF (USA)
Therapeutic area: Metabolic diseases - Ophtalmological diseases
Type agreement: R&D
Action mechanism: Plasma kallikrein is an enzyme (a serine protease) that has been identified as a potential therapeutic target in people with diabetic retinopathy. Research has shown that it contributes to increases in blood vessel leakage and thickening of the retina. Previous JDRF-funded studies led by one of KalVista’s co-founders, Edward Feener, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Joslin Diabetes Center, demonstrated that plasma kallikrein is increased and activated in the vitreous fluid of people with DME . This data suggests that chronic activation of plasma kallikrein increases blood vessel inflammation and permeability by generating the production of a hormone called bradykinin, which causes blood vessels to dilate or enlarge. Plasma kallikrein inhibitors are believed to reduce retinal vessel leakage by suppressing the chronic and excessive production of bradykinin.
Disease: diabetic macular edema
Details: KalVista Pharmaceuticalsand JDRF have formed a research partnership focused on a novel approach being developed by KalVista to preserve vision and slow the progression of diabetic eye disease. Diabetic eye disease is one of the most common and most serious complications in people with type 1 diabetes (T1D).The goal of this partnership is to advance KalVista’s lead pre-clinical candidate, a plasma kallikrein inhibitor, into human proof-of-concept clinical trials and to generate clinical data that would highlight its potential as an entirely new approach to treat diabetic macular edema (DME).
KalVista’s candidate will be selected from a series of novel small molecule plasma kallikrein inhibitors, which are advancing through pre-clinical development for the treatment of DME by delivery via intravitreal (IVT) injection into the eye. The pre-clinical studies being co-funded by JDRF will test whether administration of plasma kallikrein inhibitors by injection are likely to be safe and effective in improving symptoms of DME as well as in preserving visual acuity and slowing disease progression.
Financial terms: JDRF will provide up to $2.2 million in milestone-based financial support and research expertise to KalVista.
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