Athera Biotechnologies has transferred the rights to the recombinant Annexin A5 to Medirista. The transfer consists of the whole patent portfolio together with key preclinical assets.

Annexin A5, a recombinant protein product to prevent inflammation and new thrombosis, has been developed to preclinical stage by Athera, a Karolinska Development portfolio company. It was originally developed at Athera by Johan Frostegård, M.D., Ph.D., and Anna Frostegård, M.D., Ph.D., the owners of Medirista.

Annexin A5 has been shown to improve remodelling in a preclinical model of coronary bypass grafting. Another study showed that low doses of Annexin A5 could prevent injury in a model mimicking catheter-based percutaneous interventions (PCI) in mice.

The transfer accomplished, Athera will continue to work on other products that treat acute coronary syndrome (ACS). These include PC-mAb, a monoclonal antibody product to prevent secondary cardiovascular events, and CVDefine, a biomarker and companion diagnostic. In June 2013, Athera reported that it was part of a research consortium that had been awarded a €6 million ($8 million) research grant from the European Union toward preclinical development of PC-mAb. The fully human monoclonal antibody is being developed for patients with increased risk of atherosclerosis-related cardiovascular events and death, including myocardial infarction patients and patients with peripheral arterial disease undergoing vein graft surgery.

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