CytRx' iroxanadine shows promise

Los Angeles, USA-headquartered biopharmaceutical R&D company CytRx Corp says that recently-published scientific data demonstrates that its oral drug candidate, iroxanadine, may help to reduce oxidative damage to blood vessels after heart attack and stroke.

In an in vitro cellular model system of ischemia followed by reperfusion (restoration of oxygen supply), researchers, collaborating with Biorex R&D Co (from which it acquired the candidate), showed that iroxanadine protects the human endothelial cells that line the walls of blood vessels, most likely through the expression of "chaperone" proteins which repair or degrade damaged proteins, the group noted.

CytRx intends to seek a corporate partner to develop iroxanadine for its cardiovascular potential, and is planning to evaluate the agent in preclinical animal models for other indications potentially caused by damage to endothelial cells, such as diabetic foot ulcers, it said.