Vascular Restenosis

Angioplasty and stenting techniques are widely used around the world for improving blood flow to the heart muscle. When a stent is placed in a blood vessel, new tissue grows inside the stent, covering the struts of the stent. According to a 2002 article in Circulation, in an estimated 25 percent of patients the growth of scar tissue underneath the lining of the artery may be so thick that it can obstruct the blood flow and produce a blockage, usually within six months after the procedure. Vascular restenosis is the term used to describe such a blockage.

We believe the chemokine receptor CCR2 will be an important therapeutic target in interventional cardiology. Our approach to treatment of vascular restenosis is to reduce the initial migration of inflammatory monocytes to the site of stent implantation. The addition of our CCR2 antagonist, CCX140, is intended to block the migratory response of monocytes to the site of inflammation.

In vivo studies have shown that mice lacking the CCR2 gene are protected from a number of macrophage-mediated diseases such as MS and atherosclerotic lesions. Based on these data, and the current understanding of the mechanism underlying restenosis, we may conduct a proof-of-concept trial evaluating the ability of our CCR2 antagonist, CCX140, in protecting patients with stents from development of restenosis.

^ Return to Top