Strong early data for Ark fetal growth restriction drug

UK-based drug developer Ark Therapeutics says that results from the first trial in a preclinical model of blood flow to the placenta have shown that a single treatment with EG013, given directly into the mother's uterine artery, increased blood flow to the placenta by 25%, an improvement that is believed adequate to treat the condition.

The latest results of the second set of experiments have shown that the significantly-increased blood flow after treatment with EG013 is maintained out to 50 days. If confirmed in human studies, a therapy with this magnitude and duration of effect could allow the fetus to grow satisfactorily to a stage where caesarean delivery of a healthy baby could be reliably performed, the firm noted. Preliminary biodistribution results using immunohistochemical techniques have indicated that there is no transfer of the gene into the fetus.