A gene therapy for angina

MALVERN, Pa.—XyloCor Therapeutics recently dosed its first two patients in the EXACT Trial, a Phase 1/2 dose escalation trial evaluating the safety, tolerability and efficacy of the company’s lead candidate XC001 in patients with refractory angina.

The trial will enroll patients who are not responding to medication and are unsuitable for coronary artery bypass graft or percutaneous coronary intervention. XC001 is an investigational novel gene therapy designed to activate naturally occurring biological pathways to improve blood flow to areas of the heart not receiving adequate blood supply.

“People with refractory angina are forced to make many sacrifices in their lives as chest pain limits their ability to perform ordinary physical activities,” said Al Gianchetti, president and CEO of XyloCor. “Dosing the first patients in this clinical trial is an important milestone in XyloCor’s efforts to advance an innovative treatment that could reduce chest pain and enable people to resume the normal daily activities that improve their overall quality of life.”

“XC001 has the potential as a one-time gene therapy that will relieve chest pain by restoring blood flow to the heart,” said Dr. Rickey Reinhardt, the company’s chief medical officer. “The EXACT trial will provide us with vital data on the safety and efficacy of XC001 and we believe it will confirm evidence seen in previous pre-clinical and clinical programs with this mechanism of action.”

Added Gianchetti: “Therapeutic treatments for refractory angina are limited and thus results in poor health including frequent angina with an extremely diminished quality of life. There is a tremendous need to explore gene therapy as a viable treatment option for advanced coronary artery disease, especially for patients who have exhausted all other medication and surgical options.”