Myriad Genetics Drug Enters Preclinical Testing for Prevention of Acute Thrombosis

02-May-2001

Myriad Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq: MYGN) announced today that it has begun preclinical testing of its proprietary protein drug MPC-1203 for the treatment of acute thrombotic events such as those due to inflammation following major trauma, orthopedic or open heart surgery as well as for the prevention of blood clotting due to sepsis and cancer.

MPC-1203 is a proprietary form of anti-thrombin III developed in conjunction with Dr. Susan Bock of the University of Utah. Anti-thrombin III is a circulating plasma protein that is naturally produced in the liver. The proprietary form effectively resists degradation by neutrophil elastase, which is released during inflammatory events. By resisting inactivation, MPC-1203 should remain in circulation and available to carry out its function in the body. Anti-thrombin III plays a critical role in helping to maintain the flow of blood by inhibiting clot formation. Blood clotting is a major concern following orthopedic surgery such as hip replacement, open heart surgery and other critical trauma to the body. Clotting of the blood is also a cause of organ failure and death following sepsis and cancer. MPC-1203 is the subject of two United States patent applications, and eight foreign patent applications are pending.

"There is a shift in the treatment paradigm taking place for patients with acute thrombotic events such as those resulting from orthopedic surgery or sepsis," said Peter Meldrum, President and Chief Executive Officer of Myriad Genetics, Inc. "The new generation of drugs, including MPC-1203, may offer an effective treatment to over 800,000 patients per year in the United States alone, where none exists presently. This represents a multi-billion dollar market opportunity for Myriad."

One of the challenges facing physicians treating victims of major trauma, major open surgery, sepsis or advanced stage cancer is the potential for inflammation and the development of blood clots in the small blood vessels of major organs. Systemic infection accompanied by endotoxin release into the blood causes an over-reaction by the immune system in which non-site-specific clotting occurs. Also known as disseminated intravascular clotting (DIC), this type of acute thrombotic event can cause loss of blood flow to multiple organ systems leading to heart attack, stroke or other acute organ failure and frequently a rapid death.

Mark Skolnick, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Myriad Genetics, Inc., commented, "It is particularly exciting to see MPC-1203 enter pre-clinical studies, not only because the drug has the potential to treat great numbers of individuals, but because of my own research over the last 20 years on the genetics of Anti-thrombin III, with Dr. Susan Bock of the University of Utah, whose research on Anti-thrombin III has been supported by the NIH Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, and others."

MPC-1203 is now in pre-clinical studies for the prevention of DIC and acute thrombotic events. Myriad expects that MPC-1203 may be used independently or in conjunction with drugs that are currently under development by others such as drotrecogin alfa. MPC-1203 is expected to impact a number of different pathways in the inflammatory or coagulation cascades and therefore, may provide an additive effect or possibly improved activity compared with drotrecogin alfa alone.

https://www.chemeurope.com/en/news/2957/myriad-genetics-drug-enters-preclinical-testing-for-prevention-of-acute-thrombosis.html