Schering-Plough licenses acadesine

Schering-Plough has announced that it has signed an agreement for the global licensing of investigational adenosine regulating agent acadesine from speciality biopharmaceutical firm PeriCor Therapeutics.

The compounds is currently undergoing phase III clinical trials to assess its efficacy as an intravenous treatment for the prevention of ischemia-reperfusion injury which can occur in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) using a cardiopulmonary bypass.

It is reported by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons that at present the 30-day operative mortality and major complication rate associated with the CABG procedure is 13.4 per cent.

The transaction between Schering-Plough and PeriCor Therapeutics is expected to be finalised in the third quarter of the year, while the financial terms of the agreement have not been made public.

Rick Veltri, group vice-president of global clinical development in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases at the Schering-Plough Research Institute, said: “There is a significant unmet medical need in preventing morbidity and mortality from ischemia-reperfusion injury following CABG surgery.”

He added that acadesine could potentially lower the number of perioperative complications that occur in these patients and consequently reduce the associated healthcare costs incurred.

In March 2006, a study from scientists at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre suggested that drug-eluting stents should be considered as an alternative to CABG procedures in patients with severe coronary artery disease.