Vascular Pharmaceuticals

Biotechnology ResearchNorth Carolina, United States0-1 Employees

Vascular Pharmaceuticals (VPI) is a Delaware C-Corporation founded in 2005 with IP licensed from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) School of Medicine. VPI-2690B, a subcutaneously administered humanized mAb, is initiating a Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy during the third quarter of 2014. The company completed its Series A financing in September 2012 with top tier life science venture investors Intersouth Partners and MPM Capital as co-leads. In parallel with the Series A closing, VPI entered into a transaction that provides Janssen with the right to acquire VPI on pre-negotiated terms after the completion of the Phase 2 trial. Our lead program is a first in class monoclonal antibody (mAb) (VPI-2690B) that binds to a unique molecular target, the C-loop domain sequence within the αVβ3 receptor, a component of the insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) signaling pathway. The levels of the ligands that bind to αVβ3 are markedly increased in diabetes and this abnormal αVβ3 activation leads to pathologic changes that result in decreased renal function. Inhibition of ligand binding with VPI-2690B restores αVβ3 activation to normal. αVβ3 is expressed in limited cell types including smooth muscle, endothelial, and podocytes, making it an attractive target for selective antagonism. Animal studies in a diabetic pig model with VPI-2690B resulted in statistically significant improvement in pathologic changes such as glomerular basement membrane thickening and podocyte effacement. The key pathophysiologic change that indicates a loss of the normal renal filtration barrier, e.g. proteinuria, was also normalized following treatment.

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