PRNewswire
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — EGEN, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, announced that EGEN's proprietary lung targeting Staramine-mPEG nanoparticle delivery system has been used to administer an inhibitor of microRNA-145 (anti-miRNA-145) in a rat model of severe occlusive pulmonary arterial hypertension, or PAH. Treatment was shown to significantly reverse the pulmonary hypertension associated with the advanced stages of the disease and restore cardiovascular function.
This program, in collaboration with Dr. William Gerthoffer at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine, is focused on evaluating new approaches that can be used to prevent vascular remodeling that occurs in patients with PAH which leads to the deleterious cardiovascular effects associated with the disease. The results of this work were recently presented at the 2013 American Thoracic Society Annual Meeting held in Philadelphia, Penn. The abstract titles were: "Targeted Pulmonary Delivery of a microRNA Inhibitor Reverses Severe Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension in Rats", J.M. Mclendon presenting author, and "Treatment with Anti-microRNA in an Experimental Model of Occlusive Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Reverses Vascular Remodeling", S.R Joshi presenting author. Read the full PRNewswire release here.