Xention Receives Wellcome Trust Award For Atrial Fibrillation Programme

07-Jul-2009 - United Kingdom

XENTION LTD announced that it had received a substantial award from the Wellcome Trust to support pioneering work on an exciting target for atrial fibrillation.

The award, made under Wellcome’s Seeding Drug Discovery initiative, will provide up to £3 million to fund Xention’s IKACh programme over a period of three years. IKACh is the acetylcholine-activated potassium current encoded by the Kir3.1/3.4 ion channel genes and is an emerging ion channel target for the development of new therapeutics for atrial fibrillation, an area in which Xention has already broad expertise. IKACh is expressed only in the atria, and inhibition of IKACh is expected to maintain sinus rhythm in patients who have experienced episodes of atrial fibrillation. Using the funding provided by Wellcome, Xention will develop small molecule, orally active inhibitors of IKACh for assessment in in vivo models and subsequent progression into clinical development. This approach is of great interest to clinicians in a therapeutic area that is currently underserved with clinically effective, well-tolerated, medicines. Xention’s IKACh programme will complement its existing Kv1.5 programme, the most advanced compound from which is currently in clinical development.

Atrial fibrillation is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia encountered in clinical practice and is gaining in clinical importance as the population ages. It currently accounts for a very significant segment of healthcare expenditure mainly as a consequence of the increased risk of stroke that results from the disease. Although a number of drugs and therapeutic approaches are used for the management of AF, each has significant side effects and few are suitable for the prevention of the disease. There is a substantial and timely opportunity to fill this treatment gap with a safe and effective therapeutic, and IKACh represents a novel and innovative approach in the search for a solution to this serious medical problem.

https://www.bionity.com/en/news/102988/xention-receives-wellcome-trust-award-for-atrial-fibrillation-programme.html