GSK launches Phase III trial with losmapimod in acute coronary syndrome

UK pharma major GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK) has announced the start of a pivotal Phase III study, LATITUDE-TIMI 60, to evaluate the effects of losmapimod in patients presenting with acute coronary syndrome.

The global Phase III study will assess whether losmapimod can reduce the risk of a subsequent cardiac event when administered orally twice a day for a period of three months immediately after presentation with an acute coronary syndrome. Acute coronary syndrome is a term used to describe situations or events, including heart attack, where there is an abrupt reduction of blood flow to the heart through the coronary arteries. Presentation by a patient with acute coronary syndrome is a manifestation of coronary heart disease.

Losmapimod is an inhibitor of p38 mitogen activated protein (MAP) kinase, an enzyme understood to play a central role in the acute inflammation that occurs during a heart attack.