SBIR-STTR Award

Improved Adventitial Rapamycin Therapy for Peripheral Artery Restenosis
Award last edited on: 1/31/2024

Sponsored Program
SBIR
Awarding Agency
NIH : NHLBI
Total Award Amount
$3,266,129
Award Phase
2
Solicitation Topic Code
-----

Principal Investigator
Kirk P Seward

Company Information

Mercator MedSystems Inc (AKA: Endobionics Inc)

1900 Powell Street Suite 800
Emeryville, CA 94608
   (510) 614-4550
   info@mercatormed.com
   www.mercatormed.com
Location: Single
Congr. District: 13
County: Alameda

Phase I

Contract Number: 1R43HL102998-01
Start Date: 8/15/2010    Completed: 7/31/2011
Phase I year
2010
Phase I Amount
$217,409
Peripheral artery disease (PAD) affects 9 to 12 million Americans [1] and 1.5 million will require an intervention (407,400 receive bypass or amputation;1,080,000 receive angioplasty, stent or atherectomy) each year [3]. Unfortunately, only one-third of patients have a patent artery one year after balloon angioplasty of the femoral artery [4]. Bare metal stents [5-7] have eliminated elastic recoil and flow-limiting dissections but have not significantly impacted restenosis due to intimal hyperplasia [3, 8-10]. Indeed, stents placed in the femoro- popliteal segment provide patency rates of only 54-63% at 1 year and 28-55% at 2 years [5, 7, 11-12], and drug eluting stents have fared no better than bare stents in eliminating restenosis [13-15]. Recently, use of drug eluting balloons in the peripheral artery has shown potential to improve patency without the need to implant stents [16]. The kinetics of luminal-based therapy (drug-eluting balloons and stents) place the maximal concentration of drug at the luminal-wall interface. This has the distinct disadvantage of hindering healing and re-endothelialization of the vessel. Recent data suggests that the adventitia plays an important role in intimal hyperplasia, contributing to both neointimal cell volume and adverse remodeling. We propose to deliver sirolimus, a well-known anti-restenotic agent in a novel nanoparticle formulation, directly into the vascular adventitia through a percutaneous catheter at the time of angioplasty. This method avoids foreign body implantation and creates a high concentration in the adventitia and a lower concentration at the luminal surface. Mercator MedSystems has developed a catheter that slides a single needle through the vessel wall when a balloon is inflated, allowing direct therapeutic access to the adventitia. Adventitial delivery with this catheter leads to cylindrical deposition of drugs around the vessel, creating a natural drug-eluting reservoir. In Specific Aim 1 we plan to assess the magnitude of effect of three different sirolimus doses as compared to placebo in a porcine model of peripheral artery restenosis. We will choose a therapeutic, non-toxic dose to use in Specific Aim 2, in which we will study the pharmacokinetics of adventitially delivered sirolimus. We will use this information to determine how long we need to look for toxic effects in a pivotal efficacy and toxicity study, which is the goal of Specific Aim 3. The innovative product that will be developed in this proposal is a combination device/drug therapy that will be broadly applicable to vascular disease. We believe that the significance of this proposal lies in the fact that (a) we are addressing a recalcitrant clinical problem (b) perivascular or adventitial therapy may be used as an adjunct to several common interventional revascularization techniques and (c) therapeutic success in PAD could be rapidly translated to settings such as coronary and renal artery restenosis or restenosis following coronary and peripheral bypass grafting. If these initial pilot studies are successful, we intend to move into clinical trials and ultimately seek FDA approval for a novel combination product. , ,

Public Health Relevance:
The changing demographics of Western societies include an aging population with a near epidemic of obesity, insulin resistance, and diabetes mellitus, causing a dramatic rise in the prevalence of PAD, which impairs the ability to walk and causes pain, nonhealing ulcers and gangrene in the lower extremities. It is a significant public health burden and, at its worst, leads to leg amputations. Among individuals most severely affected, revascularization of the lower extremities to restore circulation is the most effective therapy. However, to date, there has been no effective pharmaceutical strategy to reduce the incidence of restenosis due to intimal hyperplasia in peripheral arteries. Therefore, the relevance of this proposal lies in its potential to improve patency of lower extremity interventions, reduce morbidity, and reduce the significant financial burden currently associated with the treatment of peripheral artery disease (PAD).

Thesaurus Terms:
Address;Adventitia;Adventitial Cell;Affect;Albumins;American;Amputation;Angioplasty;Angioplasty, Balloon;Angioplasty, Transluminal;Arteries;Atherectomy;Atheroscleroses;Atherosclerosis;Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease;Balloon Angioplasty;Binding;Binding (Molecular Function);Blood Circulation;Blood Vessels;Bloodstream;Body Tissues;Bullfrog;Bypass;Cardiac Artery;Catheters;Cell Volumes;Circulation;Clinical;Clinical Research;Clinical Study;Clinical Trials;Clinical Trials, Unspecified;Combined Modality Therapy;Constriction, Pathologic;Constriction, Pathological;Coronary;Coronary Artery;Couples Therapy;Dissec;Data;Deposit;Deposition;Devices;Diabetes Mellitus;Dilatation, Transluminal Arterial;Disadvantaged;Dissection;Distal;Dose;Drug Delivery;Drug Delivery Systems;Drug Formulations;Drug Kinetics;Drug Targeting;Drug Targetings;Drug Therapy;Drug Usage;Drugs;Epidemic;Extremities;Fda Approved;Family Suidae;Femoral Artery;Foreign Bodies;Formulation;Formulations, Drug;Gangrene;Goals;Ground Substance;Ground Substance Cytosol;Harvest;Healed;Heart Artery;Human;Human, General;Hyperplasia;Hyperplastic;Implant;In Vitro;Incidence;Individual;Infusion;Infusion Procedures;Injection Of Therapeutic Agent;Injections;Injury;Insulin Resistance;Intervention;Intervention Strategies;Kidney;Kinetic;Kinetics;Lead;Leg;Legal Patent;Leiomyocyte;Limb Structure;Limbs;Lower Extremity;Lower Limb;Man (Taxonomy);Man, Modern;Medial;Medication;Membrum Inferius;Metals;Methods;Methods And Techniques;Methods, Other;Modeling;Molecular Interaction;Morbidity;Morbidity - Disease Rate;Multimodal Therapy;Multimodal Treatment;Multimodality Treatment;Myocytes, Smooth Muscle;Needles;Non-Trunk;Obesity;Operation;Operative Procedures;Operative Surgical Procedures;Pbo;Pain;Painful;Patents;Patients;Pb Element;Percutaneous Atherectomy;Percutaneous Transluminal Angioplasty;Percutaneous Transluminal Atherectomy;Pericapillary Cell;Pericytes;Peripheral;Peripheral Arterial Disease;Perivascular Cell;Pharmaceutic Preparations;Pharmaceutical Agent;Pharmaceutical Preparations;Pharmaceuticals;Pharmacokinetics;Pharmacologic Substance;Pharmacological Substance;Pharmacotherapy;Phase;Phenotype;Pigs;Pilot Projects;Placebos;Play;Popliteal Artery;Prevalence;Prevention;Proliferating;Public Health;Rana Catesbeiana;Rapamune;Rapamycin;Recovery;Renal Artery;Research;Role;Rouget Cells;Sample Size;Sampling;Sham Treatment;Sirolimus;Slide;Smooth Muscle Cells;Smooth Muscle Myocytes;Smooth Muscle Tissue Cell;Societies;Stenosis;Stents;Structure Of Femoral Artery;Structure Of Popliteal Artery;Structure Of Renal Artery;Suidae;Superficial Femoral Artery;Surface;Surgical;Surgical Interventions;Surgical Procedure;Swine;Techniques;Testing;Therapeutic;Time;Tissues;Toxic Effect;Toxicities;Translating;Translatings;Transluminal Atherectomy;Tunica Adventitia;Ulcn;Ulcer;Ulceration;Urinary System, Kidney;Vascular Diseases;Vascular Disorder;Vascular Remodeling;Walking;Adiposity;Aging Population;Animal Data;Atheromatosis;Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease;Base;Blood Vessel Disorder;Clinical Investigation;Combination Therapy;Combined Modality Treatment;Combined Treatment;Commercialization;Corpulence;Corpulency;Corpulentia;Demographics;Diabetes;Dosage;Drug Use;Drug/Agent;Effective Therapy;Femoral Artery;Fibrous Protein;Healing;Heavy Metal Pb;Heavy Metal Lead;Implantation;Improved;Innovate;Innovation;Innovative;Insulin Resistant;Interventional Strategy;Intraluminal Angioplasty;Language Translation;Multimodality Therapy;Nano Particle;Nanoparticle;Novel;Obese;Obese People;Obese Person;Obese Population;Pilot Study;Porcine;Post Intervention;Preclinical Study;Prevent;Preventing;Public Health Medicine (Field);Public Health Relevance;Renal;Renal Artery;Restenosis;Sham Therapy;Social Role;Success;Suid;Surgery;Vascular

Phase II

Contract Number: 2R44HL102998-02
Start Date: 8/15/2010    Completed: 4/30/2015
Phase II year
2013
(last award dollars: 2024)
Phase II Amount
$3,048,720

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) affects 9 to 12 million Americans [1] and 1.5 million will require an intervention (407,400 receive bypass or amputation; 1,080,000 receive angioplasty, stent or atherectomy) each year [3]. Unfortunately, only one-third of patients have a patent artery one year after balloon angioplasty of the femoral artery [4]. Bare metal stents [5-7] have eliminated elastic recoil and flow-limiting dissections bu have not significantly impacted restenosis due to intimal hyperplasia [3, 8-10]. Indeed, stents placed in the femoro- popliteal segment provide patency rates of only 54-63% at 1 year and 28-55% at 2 years [5, 7, 11-12], and drug eluting stents have fared no better than bare stents in eliminating restenosis [13-15]. Recently, use of drug-coated balloons in the peripheral artery has shown potential to improve patency without the need to implant stents [16]. However, the kinetics of luminal-based therapy (drug-eluting balloons and stents) place the maximal concentration of drug at the luminal-wall interface. This has the distinct disadvantage of hindering healing and re-endothelialization of the vessel. Recent data suggests that the adventitia plays a critical role in intimal hyperplasia, contributing to both neointimal cell volum and adverse remodeling. We have successfully completed the aims of Phase 1 research and in pre-clinical studies we have demonstrated non-toxic, efficacious doses of rapamycin, a well-known anti-restenotic agent in a novel nanoparticle formulation, delivered directly into the vascular adventitia through a percutaneous catheter at the time of angioplasty. This method avoids foreign body implantation and creates a high concentration in the adventitia and a lower concentration at the luminal surface. Mercator MedSystems has developed a catheter that slides a single needle through the vessel wall when a balloon is inflated, allowing direct therapeutic access to the adventitia. The catheter has been used in human pilot studies with successful adventitial delivery leading to cylindrical deposition of drugs around the vessel, creating a natural drug-eluting reservoir. We are now proposing to advance this research into human clinical trials, with Specific Aims of confirming safety while demonstrating the positive biological effect and clinical benefits of rapamycin delivered to the adventitia at the time of peripheral artery angioplasty. The innovative product that will be developed in this proposal is a combination device/drug therapy that will be broadly applicable to vascular disease. We believe that the significance of this proposal lies in the fact that (a) we are addressing a recalcitrant clinical problem (b) perivascular or adventitial therapy may be used as an adjunct to several common interventional revascularization techniques and (c) therapeutic success in PAD could be rapidly translated to settings such as coronary and renal artery restenosis or restenosis following coronary and peripheral bypass grafting. If these Phase 2 studies are successful, we intend to move into pivotal clinical trials and ultimately seek FDA approval for a novel combination product.

Public Health Relevance Statement:


Public Health Relevance:
The changing demographics of Western societies include an aging population with a near epidemic of obesity, insulin resistance, and diabetes mellitus, causing a dramatic rise in the prevalence of PAD, which impairs the ability to walk and causes pain, nonhealing ulcers and gangrene in the lower extremities. It is a significant public health burden and, at its worst, leads to leg amputations. Among individuals most severely affected, revascularization of the lower extremities to restore circulation is the most effective therapy. However, to date, there has been no effective pharmaceutical strategy to reduce the incidence of restenosis due to intimal hyperplasia in peripheral arteries. Therefore, the relevance of this proposal lies in its potential to improve patency of lower extremity interventions, reduce morbidity, and reduce the significant financial burden currently associated with the treatment of peripheral artery disease (PAD).

Project Terms:
Address; adjudicate; Affect; aging population; Albumins; American; Amputation; Angioplasty; animal data; Ankle; Arteries; Atherectomy; Atherosclerosis; Balloon Angioplasty; base; Binding (Molecular Function); Biological; Biological Markers; Blood Circulation; Blood Vessels; Bypass; Carotid Arteries; Catheters; Cells; Cessation of life; claudication; Clinical; clinical effect; Clinical Trials; cohort; Combined Modality Therapy; commercialization; Controlled Clinical Trials; Coronary; Coronary artery; Data; demographics; Deposition; Devices; Diabetes Mellitus; Disadvantaged; Dissection; Distal; dosage; Dose; Double-Blind Method; Drug Delivery Systems; Drug Formulations; Drug usage; effective therapy; Effectiveness; Enrollment; Epidemic; Event; Family suidae; FDA approved; femoral artery; fibrous protein; Foreign Bodies; Freedom; Gangrene; Ground Substance; Healed; healing; Human; Hyperplasia; Implant; implantation; improved; Incidence; indexing; Individual; Infusion procedures; Injury; innovation; Insulin Resistance; Intervention; Investigational New Drug Application; Kinetics; Lead; Leg; Legal patent; Lesion; limb amputation; Limb structure; Lower Extremity; Medial; Metals; Methods; Morbidity - disease rate; nanoparticle; Needles; novel; Obesity; Operative Surgical Procedures; Outcome; Pain; Patients; Pericytes; Peripheral; Peripheral arterial disease; Pharmaceutical Preparations; Pharmacologic Substance; Pharmacotherapy; Phase; phase 2 study; Phase I Clinical Trials; Phenotype; Pilot Projects; Placebo Control; Play; Postoperative Period; preclinical evaluation; preclinical study; Prevalence; prevent; Prevention; Procedures; Proliferating; public health medicine (field); public health relevance; Rana catesbeiana; Randomized Controlled Clinical Trials; Recovery; renal artery; Research; response; restenosis; Role; Safety; Sirolimus; Slide; Smooth Muscle Myocytes; Societies; Stenosis; Stents; Structure of popliteal artery; success; Superficial Femoral Artery; Surface; Techniques; Testing; Therapeutic; Therapeutic Embolization; thrombolysis; Time; Translating; Tunica Adventitia; Ulcer; Ultrasonography; Vascular Diseases; Vascular remodeling; Walking