DENVER, March 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Myogen, Inc., a Colorado-based
biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering, developing and
commercializing drugs for the treatment of heart failure and related
cardiovascular complications, announced today the publication of results from
a pre-clinical study of ambrisentan in stent-induced restenosis. The results
of the study demonstrated that ambrisentan administered orally significantly
reduced the narrowing of the coronary arteries of pigs following angioplasty
and coronary stent implantation. The publication appeared in the December
issue of the Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology.
"The results of this study demonstrate that ambrisentan, a type-A
selective endothelin receptor antagonist, has potent antiproliferative effects
on vascular smooth muscle cells in the in vivo setting," commented Dr. Michael
Kirchengast, the author of the paper and currently Vice President of
Cardiovascular Therapeutics at Cardion AG. "With the pharmacologic effects
seen in this clinically relevant model, ambrisentan holds promise as a
potential therapeutic in the treatment of coronary artery disease."
Restenosis is the primary complication associated with coronary balloon
angioplasty and stent-implantation. It is a progressive narrowing of the
blood vessel lumen and is characterized by smooth muscle cell proliferation,
extracellular matrix deposition and constrictive vessel remodeling. These are
the same pathophysiological processes responsible for the progression of heart
and kidney disease. Myogen plans to pursue development of ambrisentan for the
treatment of chronic renal failure and chronic heart failure.
Myogen is a privately held biopharmaceutical company engaged in the
discovery and development of drugs for the treatment of heart failure and
related cardiovascular conditions. The company's strategy aims to leverage
its research and clinical expertise in heart muscle disease toward the
development of a portfolio of novel cardiovascular therapeutics. The company
is currently evaluating two drugs in human clinical studies: enoximone, an
agent that increases the force of contraction of the heart, and ambrisentan, a
member of a new class of drugs referred to as endothelin receptor antagonists,
which the Company intends to develop for the treatment of chronic heart
failure, chronic renal failure, and pulmonary arterial hypertension. Myogen
sells Perfan(R)I.V., the intravenous form of enoximone, in Europe. In
addition, Myogen's research efforts have identified several novel therapeutic
targets involved in heart failure for which the company has begun drug
discovery efforts. Myogen occupies 20,000 square feet of laboratory and
office space in the Denver, Colorado area and currently has approximately
40 employees. Please visit our website at http://www.myogen.com .
SOURCE Myogen, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.myogen.com
CONTACT:
J. William Freytag, Ph.D., President & CEO,
+1-303-464-5221, or Joseph L. Turner, Chief Financial Officer,
+1-303-464-5222, both of Myogen, Inc.
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