DECODE BEGINS PHASE I TRIAL OF DG051 TO PREVENT HEART ATTACK

DeCODE genetics has begun enrolling patients in a Phase I clinical development program for DG051, the company's follow-on developmental compound for the prevention of heart attack. The ascending-dose, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study will examine the safety and tolerability profile of DG051 as well as pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.

DG051 is a novel small-molecule inhibitor of leukotriene A4 hydrolase, the protein made by one of the genes in the leukotriene pathway deCODE has linked to risk of heart attack. Like DG031, the company's lead compound for the prevention of heart attack now in a Phase III trial, DG051 is designed to decrease risk of heart attack by decreasing the production of leukotriene B4 (LTB4), an end product of the leukotriene pathway and a potent promoter of inflammation. DG051 was discovered by deCODE's structural biology and chemistry groups, and in preclinical studies it has been shown in human blood ex vivo and in animal models to be a potent inhibitor of LTB4 production.