Vascular BioSciences Will Present Results of “CAR Peptide Targeted Liposomes Loaded with an Admixture of Fasudil and DETA Nonoate for the Treatment of PAH”, and “A PAH Drug Ranking Strategy for Individualized Combination Therapy via Pulmonary Endoarterial Biopsy” at the American Thoracic Society International Conference in San Diego, California on May 22, 2024

Goleta, CA – Vascular BioSciences (VBS) will present results of two recent studies – (1) CAR Peptide Targeted Liposomes Loaded with an Admixture of Fasudil and DETA Nonoate for the Treatment of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension and (2) A PAH Drug Ranking Strategy for Individualized Combination Therapy via Pulmonary Endoarterial Biopsy – at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) International Conference that will take place at the San Diego Convention Center on May 22nd from 8:15 – 10:15 AM, Room 25A-C in San Diego, CA. 

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a fatal disease characterized by progressive obliteration of the pulmonary vasculature. Despite advancements in PAH pharmacological therapy, long-term outcomes remain suboptimal. There is a pressing need for new targeted treatments and more personalized approaches to the medical management of PAH patients. 

CARSKNKDC (CAR), a synthetic cyclic peptide with high homology to heparin-binding domains, was identified from a phage-screen targeting soft-tissue wounds. It functions as a homing peptide to the vascular wall of remodeled vessels in experimental PAH, but not systemic nor pulmonary vessels of normal animals. Our presentation, “CAR Peptide Targeted Liposomes Loaded with an Admixture of Fasudil and DETA Nonoate,” describes a promising strategy for targeted delivery of the Rho-kinase inhibitor fasudil and the nitric oxide donor DETA Nonoate in CAR-lipid targeted liposomes in a model of severe PAH. Both treatments and their combination produced a highly significant 50% reduction in mPAP and RVSP, along with similar improvements in right heart remodeling and echocardiographic parameters compared to untreated PAH. Additionally, reductions in pulmonary artery muscularization and collagen deposition were also observed. These research findings demonstrate the potential of inhaled CAR targeted liposomal therapy to improve pulmonary hemodynamics, RV functions, and pathological alterations in the pulmonary vasculature.  

Our second presentation, “A PAH Drug Ranking Strategy for Individualized Combination Therapy via Pulmonary Endoarterial Biopsy,” describes a method to match PAH pharmacological therapy more precisely to pulmonary artery gene expression patterns based on bioinformatic analysis of pulmonary artery biopsy samples obtained percutaneously with our endoarterial biopsy catheter. The existing approved therapeutic agents for PAH primarily focus on three molecular pathways. However, there is a lack of evidence-based methodologies for personalizing therapy to individual patients. We propose a diagnostic method that employs bioinformatics to assess and rank currently approved pulmonary arterial hypertension drugs. By incorporating a minimally invasive biopsy method with gene expression analysis, a systematic ranking system for therapeutic agents was established that could improve the prognosis and response to therapy of a patient with PAH at any stage of the disease. These research findings demonstrate the potential of personalized therapy to better target treatment for patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.

CEO of Vascular BioSciences, David Mann, commented, “We are excited to present the full scope of our ongoing efforts to better treat and manage pulmonary arterial hypertension. The ultimate goal of our research is to find a cure for PAH.” 

About Vascular BioSciences

Vascular BioSciences, a diversified biomedical company with operations in California and North Carolina, provides targeted solutions for serious diseases in order to enhance and prolong human life.

Vascular BioSciences makes interventional catheters to obtain endoarterial biopsies, provides molecular diagnostic services, and through its majority owned subsidiary VBS Pharmaceuticals, develops targeted therapeutics for patients with difficult-to-treat diseases.

More information about VBS is available at http://www.vascularbiosciences.com/

For more information, please contact dmann@vascularbiosciences.com