Windtree Therapeutics Inc. is out-licensing China rights for phase III-ready heart failure candidate istaroxime to Lee’s Pharmaceutical Ltd. for $138 million, plus royalties. Lee’s, of Hong Kong, plans to begin a phase III study for istaroxime in acute heart failure in greater China, while Windtree, of Warrington, Pa., will conduct a global trial in cardiogenic shock, a form of sudden heart failure. Windtree reported positive phase II data in April 2022 that tested istaroxime in cardiogenic shock, which happens when the heart cannot pump enough blood and oxygen to vital organs.
The U.S. FDA has granted Mesoblast Ltd.’s allogeneic cell therapy Revascor (rexlemestrocel-L) rare pediatric disease designation following submission of results from a clinical trial in children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a potentially life-threatening congenital heart condition.
Collagen prolyl 4-hydroxylase (P4H) is an α-ketoglutarate (α-KG)-dependent dioxygenase, and prolyl 4-hydroxylase subunit α1 (P4HA1) is the major isoform among the catalytic subunits of P4H. It has been previously demonstrated that P4HA1 promotes angiogenesis in tumors, and bioinformatics analysis has identified P4HA1 as a glycolysis-related gene in various cancers.
