BioInvent gets OK for BI-204 trial

Swedish research-based pharmaceutical company BioInvent International AB says that it has received approval from the Danish Medicines Agency to initiate a Phase I trial of BI-204, its developmental candidate for the treatment of cardiovascular conditions induced by atherosclerosis. Early last year, BioInvent signed a co-development agreement for the drug with USA-based Genentech (Marketletter January 22, 2007)

BI-204, which is an antibody that targets oxidized forms of low-density lipoprotein cholestorol, is being developed for the treatment of cardiac events, including heart attack and stroke, in high-risk patients. BioInvent said that the new study, which will be run as a double-blind, radomized dose-escalating assessment, will examine single and multiple doses of the drug in 80 patients with elevated LDL-C levels.