La Jolla's oral inhibitors may benefit stroke and ulcerative colitis
Data published this month in two peer-reviewed articles suggest that La Jolla Pharmaceutical's orally-active small molecule inhibitors of SSAO/VAP 1 may benefit patients with stroke, ulcerative colitis and other autoimmune diseases and inflammatory disorders.
The San Diego, US-based developer of therapeutics for antibody-mediated autoimmune diseases and inflammation had a paper by Xu et al published electronically in the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics on December 8, 2005. This paper indicates that a potent and selective SSAO inhibitor, LJP 1207, may provide clinical benefit in the treatment of stroke.
The second paper, by Salter-Cid et al, and published in the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, extended the observations concerning the potential of LJP 1207 to both acute and chronic inflammation.
Dr Matthew Linnik, executive vice-president of research and chief scientific officer of La Jolla said: 'Our results in stroke may be especially important. Although stroke is a leading cause of death and disability, there has been a lack of success in developing drug candidates to treat stroke. We look forward to selecting a clinical candidate for this program, and we are excited about the potential to provide a novel oral anti-inflammatory therapy for the treatment of a spectrum of diseases that are caused or worsened by inflammation.'