Martinsried/Munich, Germany, November 20, 2011 -- Corimmun GmbH, a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, today announced the start of a Phase II clinical trial with the peptide drug COR-1. COR-1 has been developed for the personalized therapy of congestive heart failure. The trial was initiated in September 2011, and the first patients have been recruited. So far, drug administration has been well tolerated by these patients, no relevant side effects occurred. The same was true in all subjects in a previous phase I trial.
The trial is designed as a multicentric, randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled study, and is conducted in several specialized university centres in Germany. Patients with heart failure due to dilated cardiomyopathy receive COR-1 once monthly over 6 months at a dose of either 20 mg, 80 mg or 160 mg, or matching placebo. Primary end point is cardiac function, as assessed by echocardiography. Secondary endpoints include major adverse cardiac events, 6 min. walk test, clinical testing, NYHA class assessment and antibody titers.
"We are very much looking forward to the results of this trial," said Götz Münch, CEO of Corimmun. "The trial is to show proof of concept for treatment with COR-1 in patients with heart failure."
"The indication we are addressing is heart failure, which is a frequent disease and causes a large death toll. Both, patients with ischemic and non-ischemic heart failure, as well as patients suffering from Chagas´ cardiomyopathy, a parasitic disease which is wide-spread in South America, express antibodies directed against the ß1-adrenergic receptor, and could therefore be eligible for this novel therapy" added Martin Ungerer, Medical Director of Corimmun.
COR-1 is a cyclic peptide with a unique mode of action. It is developed by Corimmun for the personalized treatment of heart failure, by targeting the auto-immune mechanism of antibodies directed against the ß1-adrenergic receptor in these patients. COR-1 is a drug which prevents this auto-antibody-mediated propagation of heart failure. Functional auto-antibodies are an increasingly recognized phenomenon in any form of heart failure, corresponding to a large and currently unmet medical need.
In contrast to existing drugs used in the treatment of heart failure, COR-1 does not result in any acute negative effect on hemodynamics (such as lowering blood pressure or pulse rate) which often causes side effects with these existing drugs.
The start of this study was also appreciated by the University of Würzburg, where Corimmun´s co-founders Roland Jahns and Martin Lohse had created the scientific basis for the development of COR-1. The University of Würzburg has granted an exclusive license on this technology to Corimmun, and the start of this phase II study represents a successfully accomplished milestone of this contract.
This clinical trial also received funding from the Munich cluster m4 of the German Research Ministry (BMBF).
About COR-1:
Corimmun's lead product COR-1 is a cyclic peptide. It targets autoantibodies directed against the human ß1-adrenergic receptor. As a result, these auto-antibodies are inactivated and cardiac performance improves.
COR-1 has a short half-life. COR-1 has been validated in relevant animal models and has shown strong efficacy in terms of decrease of immune reaction and improvement of heart failure (clinical symptoms as well as hemodynamic parameters).
About Corimmun GmbH
Corimmun GmbH is a privately owned biotechnology company located in Martinsried near Munich, Germany. Corimmun was founded in 2006 as a spin-off from the Universities of Würzburg and of Tübingen, and develops drugs which focus on inflammatory mechanisms in heart failure and atherosclerosis. Corimmun owns 4 different projects generated from its own scientific program or from the outstanding university groups of the company´s founders.
For more information please contact
Corimmun GmbH
PD Dr. Götz Münch
Fraunhoferstr. 17
D-82152 Martinsried Germany
phone +49-89-8565-2010
Email: info@corimmun.com