ZZ Biotech, LLC

Biotechnology ResearchCalifornia, United States51-200 Employees

ZZ Biotech LLC is a clinical stage company developing innovative biologic treatments for ischemic stroke and other neurological diseases and wound healing applications including the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers.  ZZ Biotech was incepted in 2006 to focus on the development of 3K3A-APC, a novel second-generation variant of a naturally occurring human protein licensed from The Scripps Research Institute.

ZZ Biotech’s 3K3A-APC is a genetically engineered variant of recombinant APC, a serine protease.   APC has two biochemical pathways in the body.  APC exerts anticoagulant activity by inactivation of Factor Va and VIIIa, and it exerts cytoprotective activity primarily through interaction with the endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR) and protease-activated receptor-1 (PAR-1).  3K3A-APC was designed through elegant biochemistry and molecular biology as a safer next-generation version of APC, with greatly reduced anti-coagulant activity.

ZZ Biotech has completed a multicenter Phase 2 clinical trial of its experimental drug, 3K3A-APC, in patients suffering from acute ischemic stroke. The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health through a pair of NeuroNEXT grants. The Phase 2 study evaluated safety, tolerability and activity of ZZ Biotech’s 3K3A-APC when given after tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), mechanical thrombectomy, or both, in patients who have experienced moderate to severe ischemic stroke. The drug was given intravenously as a 15-minute infusion every 12 hours for up to five treatments, and four dose levels were evaluated. 110 participants, ages 18 to 90, were being followed for 90 days. All doses tested were deemed safe and well-tolerated. Furthermore, bleeding associated with tPA and thrombectomy was substantially reduced in patients treated with 3K3A-APC.

ZZ Biotech also acquired a complementary suite of patents on the use of APC and APC mutants in wound healing, wound scarring, burns, and inflammatory skin disorders.

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