India's CSIR-CDRI and Marc Labs to develop drug for stroke

India's Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)'s constituent Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI) has teamed up with domestic drugmaker Marc Laboratories to develop a compound for treating heart attack and stroke. The CSIR-CDRI recently obtained permission to initiate Phase I clinical trials for the drug.

The drug company is looking at the development of a synthetic compound S-007-867 as a modulator of the blood coagulation cascade, in particular as an inhibitor of collagen-induced platelet aggregation. The drug will be developed for coronary and cerebral artery diseases.

As an official pointed out, arterial thrombosis is an acute complication that develops on the chronic lesions of atherosclerosis leading to heart attack and stroke. Therefore, inhibition of platelet-collagen interaction is anticipated to be a promising therapeutic strategy to treat intravascular thrombosis.

The compound, S-007-867, significantly inhibits collagen-mediated platelet activation and subsequently reduces release of ATP from dense granules and thromboxane A2 via COX1 activation. It effectively maintains blood flow velocity and delays vascular occlusion and inhibits thrombogenesis without compromising hemostasis.

The drug has less bleeding risk as compared to existing therapies. In animal experiments, the compound elicited better antithrombotic protection than the standard of care with minimal bleeding tendency, the official added.

Application in treatment of COVID-19 complications?

Prophylactic use of this compound also could be useful for COVID-19 induced complications. In COVID-19, critical patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) have high D-dimer and reduced prothrombin time, suggesting a pro-thrombotic state. In addition, these patients have high numbers of circulating neutrophils, inflammatory mediators/cytokine, CRP and lymphocytopenia.

Therefore, drugs reducing platelet reactivity and neutrophil activation could be beneficial, the official said.

Prof Tapas Kundu, director of the CDRI, termed it a great moment for the research institute to license out an in-house developed compound and said it was part of the Institute's commitment of affordable healthcare for all.