DeCODE Initiates Enrollment in Phase I Trial of DG041 for Atherosclerosis

DeCODE genetics has begun enrolling subjects in a Phase I clinical trial for DG041, the company's developmental compound for the treatment of atherosclerosis of the extremities, commonly known as peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD).

PAOD is a progressive and crippling disease that affects approximately 20 percent of people over the age of 70 in the industrialized world, and for which there is currently no effective drug treatment, the company said.

The ascending-dose, single-blind, placebo controlled, randomized trial will evaluate the safety as well as the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profile of DG041. DG041 is a novel, first-in-class, orally administered small molecule which has been shown in preclinical studies to be a selective and potent antagonist of the EP3 receptor for prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), inhibiting human platelet aggregation in a dose-dependent manner. deCODE selected EP3 as a target in PAOD through its population genetics research, which linked variations in the gene encoding EP3 to increased risk of the disease.