Actelion confident of strong pipeline
Swiss biopharmaceutical company Actelion has expressed confidence that its strong preclinical and clinical pipeline will give it a broad base for future potential growth. The company already has two orally available products on the market: Tracleer, approved for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), and Zavesca, approved as the first oral treatment of type 1 Gaucher disease.
Swiss biopharmaceutical company Actelion has expressed confidence that its strong preclinical and clinical pipeline will give it a broad base for future potential growth. The company already has two orally available products on the market: Tracleer, approved for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), and Zavesca, approved as the first oral treatment of type 1 Gaucher disease.
Managing director and ceo Jean-Paul Clozel said: 'We have set ourselves the target to develop first-in-class drugs. Actelion now has five different molecules in various states of clinical development. We have three compounds in full preclinical development and a fourth one most probably entering that stage by year-end. We are also pursuing another eight research projects.'
Tracleer, an orally available dual endothelin receptor antagonist primarily focusing on chronic diseases, is currently being tested in digital ulcerations (phase III), pulmonary fibrosis (phase III) and metastatic melanoma (phase II). A new clinical trial, to be initiated soon, will test it in patients suffering from mildly symptomatic (NYHA class II) pulmonary arterial hypertension (phase III). Veletri, the company's intravenous dual endothelin receptor antagonist, is currently being investigated in acute heart failure (phase III) and hepatorenal syndrome associated with liver cirrhosis (phase II).
Zavesca is being tested in other lipid-storage disorders than type 1 Gaucher diseases, such as late-onset Tay-Sachs, Nieman-Pick type C and type 3 Gaucher disease. Clazosentan, newly added to Actelion's pipeline through the recent Axovan acquisition, will be evaluated for the prevention of vasospasm following cerebral bleeding. The development program has to be agreed with regulatory authorities.
The first urotensin II receptor antagonist ever to enter clinical testing has successfully concluded phase I. It was shown to be orally active and well tolerated. It will now be evaluated in chronic renal failure in diabetic patients (phase II).
The company currently has three projects in full preclinical development, of which two are not disclosed for competitive reasons. The third compound is an orexin receptor antagonist with oral activity in animal models of sleep and appetite disorders. Potentially by year-end, Actelion expects to move a fourth compound into full-preclinical development, as substantial progress has been made regarding the bioavailability and activity of the company's renin inhibitor.
Actelion's research programme is focusing on two molecular platforms; G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs, such as Tracleer and the urotension II antagonist) and aspartyl proteases (such as renin). In addition to the compounds mentioned above, Actelion is currently pursuing an additional eight projects in these two areas.