Good Ph II for VIA-2291

USA-based VIA Pharmaceuticals has announced the results of a sub-study of patients in its acute coronary syndrome Phase II trial who received  serial 64 slice multi-detector computed tomography scans before and  after six months of treatment with its lead drug, VIA-2291, an inhibitor  of leukotrienes, proposed mediators of vascular inflammation. These were  presented in a poster session at the American Heart Association  Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology Annual Conference 2009  in Washington DC by Jean-Claude Tardif of the Montreal Heart Institute,  and Rebecca Taub, VIA's senior vice president, R&D.

Of 191 patients enrolled in the first 12 weeks of the ACS trial, over 85  elected to continue in the study for an additional 12 weeks, receiving  either placebo or VIA-2291 on top of current standard medical care. Each  of these received an MDCT scan at baseline and at 24 weeks. Evaluable  scans from subjects treated with placebo showed significantly more  evidence of new plaque lesions at follow-up than VIA-2291-treated  patients. MDCT scans of people with low-density plaques demonstrated  statistically-significant, lower plaque volumes in combined VIA treated  groups compared to placebo. Together, these results suggest that the  product may reduce the progression of unstable coronary plaques that  lead to heart attacks and stroke.