Chronic heart failure is a condition that affects 5.7 million people in the U.S. and about 670,000 new patients are diagnosed each year. A couple of medical school professors at the University of Pennsylvania are taking an innovative approach to developing a treatment that focuses on how the heart uses energy in a treatment area known as bioenergetics. They’re looking for a corporate partner to advance their company’s late stage drug through clinical trials.
Ventrigen wants to address the energy consumption problems associated with advanced chronic heart failure. The heart is responsible for consuming more energy than any other organ in the body. But with heart failure patients, the heart loses the ability to store energy and the work the heart has to perform compared with the energy it can produce to fulfill its needs become unbalanced. As heart failure progresses, the heart becomes more reliant upon glucose for energy, but also becomes insulin-resistant so cannot use glucose as easily as a healthy heart. This further damages the heart muscle and makes heart failure worse, according to the company’s website.
The principle founder of Ventrigen is Dr. Richard Shannon, the Frank Wister Thomas Professor of Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine who is also chairman of the department of medicine at University of Pennsylvania Health System. Ventrigen’s co-founder is Dr. Amanda Christini who is also an assistant professor of medicine with a background steeped in business development.
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Its treatment, GLP-1, is designed to make it easier for the heart, kidney, liver and lung to use glucose, preventing further damage and helping cells recover from damage that’s incurred to improve their function.
Christini said the company is taking a fundamentally new approach to the disease that could potentially change the course of the chronic heart failure. The company has completed Phase 2a clinical trials for advanced chronic heart failure and the next trial will focus on patient-centered outcomes, such as functional improvement and reducing readmission rates. She explained that the company is looking for a corporate partner with the resources and regulatory expertise in heart failure.
“We are having informal conversations in the venture capital world but I think there’s little appetite for this type of investment there.”
In addition to chronic heart failure, the company also views GLP-1 as a treatment for transplant rejection and acute decompensated heart failure. ADHF is seen as one of the biggest drivers of hospital costs because it leads to frequent rehospitalizations. Hospitals are trying to bring down healthcare costs as part of the Affordable Care Act.
