Prof. Abd Higazi, Hadassah University Hospital - CSO
Thrombotech Ltd. was founded in Israel in 2000. Through years of meticulous research in the thrombolytic area, the Company’s scientific founder, Prof. Abd Higazi of the Hadassah Medical Center, a world leader in the field of Thrombosis, has developed a distinctive lead compound to be used as safer thrombolytic agents: a Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) derived peptide.
Sector and Field of Activity
Today there is only one compound approved for stroke therapy is tissue plasminogen activator (tPA). Due to its adverse side effect profile (mainly intracranial hemorrhage) and short therapeutic window, only 3-5% of embolic stroke victims received the drug. Thrombotech is developing innovative peptide that can address tPA unmet needs extending its therapeutic time window and reducing its adverse side effects.
Market
Approximately 750,000 patients suffer new ischemic strokes annually in the USA, about 150,000 of who die as a consequence. Worldwide, the incidence of stroke is estimated to be 2-2.5 per thousand, resulting in 4.5 million deaths per year. The direct and indirect annual costs of stroke in the United States currently are estimated to exceed $51 billion.
Notwithstanding more than 50 years of effort to develop effective treatments, tPA remains the only FDA-approved treatment for acute stroke. tPA improves clinical outcome, but only if administered within 3 hours of the onset of an ischemic stroke. In addition to its brief therapeutic window, the increased side-effects including symptomatic intra-cerebral hemorrhage (ICH) have constrained its clinical use to only 3% of patients who might otherwise benefit from intervention.
Additional indications of Thrombotech’s products include: Acute Myocardial Infraction (AMI) ~ (900,000 patients/year), Pulmonary Embolism (PE) (~ 650,000 patients/year), and Peripheral Arterial and Venous Occlusion (~ 1,000,000 patients/year).
Science and Technology
The first lead compound of Thrombotech is a peptide that when combined together with virtually every thrombolytic agent existing today (e.g., Urokinase®, Alteplase®, Retavase®, TNKase®) can increase its PAI-1 resistance and abolish its vasoactivity. The co-administration of the peptide can significantly reduce the bleeding side effects and increase the therapeutic time window of current thrombolytic treatment, thus improving significantly both its efficacy and safety profile.
Thrombotech’s animal studies (3 different species in several independent sites) exhibited high efficacy and safety of its lead compounds. GMP production of the peptide, further toxicity tests, and completion of requirements for an IND request are expected within 2009.
Intellectual Property Status
The company has licensed and owns various patents / patent applications for the complex technology and the thrombolytic use of its lead peptide.
Collaboration / Investment Sought
The company is seeking additional investment in order to initiate clinical trials.
