Cimaglermin - New Drug May Help to Improve Heart Failure

Highlights

• Heart failure is one of the common cause for death in the world.
• Cimaglermin is a new drug found to restore cardiac functions.
• Side effects of cimaglermin drug may include head ache, nausea and drug induced liver injury

New drug Cimaglermin may help to improve cardiac functions after heart failure, finds a study from Vanderbilt University. The research study was published in the journal JACC: Basic to Translational Science.

Research Study to Analyze the Safety and Efficacy of Cimaglermin Drug
The research team studied the safety and efficacy of cimaglermin drug in 40 heart failure patients. These patients were following medical therapy for a period of three months before the trial. When compared to patients who receive placebo drug, patients who received cimaglermin drug were found to have a sustained increase in the left ventricular ejection fraction, for 90 days after dosing a single infusion. The maximum dose was found to increase by day 28.

Daniel J. Lenihan MD, division of cardiovascular medicine "These findings support continued clinical development of the investigational drug cimaglermin, including further safety evaluations and detailing the potential improvement on clinical heart failure outcome measures."

"As with all experimental therapeutics, additional studies will be required and subject to regulatory review to determine if the relative risks and benefits of cimaglermin warrant approval."

Limitations of the Study

• Small sample size
• Patients receive only single infusion instead of multiple doses.

Douglas L. Mann MD,FACC, editor-in-chief, said, "Although the results of the study must be regarded as provisional because of the small numbers of patients, the results of this study are nonetheless very exciting."

"Instead of blocking the fundamental mechanisms that lead to cardiac injury, the early results with cimaglermin suggest that it may also be possible to administer therapeutics that allow the failing heart to repair itself using its own repair mechanisms. If the results of this study can be replicated and translated into improvements in clinical outcomes in larger numbers of patients in phase II and III clinical trials, it will represent a paradigm shift in the way in which clinicians treat patients with heart failure."

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Heart Failure
Heart failure is a condition where the heart cannot pump enough blood. It is one of the leading cause for death around the world. Heart failure may occur due to diabetes, coronary heart disease or high blood pressure. People above the age of 65 are more prone for heart failure.

Symptoms of Heart Failure

• Shortness of breath
• Weight gain
• Generally feeling tired or weak

Cimaglermin Drug
This new drug may help to restore cardiac functions. It acts as a growth factor and is capable of helping the structural, metabolic and contractile elements of the heart to repair by its own after injury.

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Common Side Effects of Cimaglermin Drug

• Headache
• Nausea
• Drug induced liver injury

References

1. Daniel J. Lenihan et.al. ‘A Phase I, Single Ascending Dose Study of Cimaglermin Alfa (Neuregulin 1β3) in Patients With Systolic Dysfunction and Heart Failure, ‘ JACC: Basic to Translational Science ; (2016) http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jacbts.2016.09.005
2. Heart Failure - ( https://medlineplus.gov/heartfailure.html)

Source-Medindia