deCODE starts enrolling in Ph I DG051 trial

Icelandic genomics-based drug development firm deCODE genetics has begun enrolling patients in a Phase I clinical development program for DG051, its follow-on developmental compound for the prevention of heart attack. The ascending-dose, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study will examine the safety and tolerability profile of the agent, as well as its pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.

The novel small-molecule agent is an inhibitor of leukotriene A4 hydrolase, the protein made in the leukotriene pathway, which deCODE has linked to risk of heart attack. Like DG031, the company's lead compound for the prevention of heart attack now in a Phase III clinical trial, DG051 is designed to decrease the risk of heart attack by reducing the production of leukotriene B4, an end product of the leukotriene pathway and a potent promoter of inflammation.