Australian biotechnology company Certa Therapeutics says new research presented by the University of Michigan has revealed ground-breaking results for its FT011.
The investigative therapy is a potential treatment of serious inflammatory and fibrotic diseases.
The company said the results of a chronic kidney disease (CKD) study, which were presented at the annual scientific meeting of the American Society of Nephrology, concluded that FT011 is highly effective in reversing the activation of molecular markers associated with fibrosis.
Certa Therapeutics CEO, Professor Darren Kelly, said the results are a pivotal breakthrough in the development of treatments for fibrosis - an unmet clinical need responsible for 45 per cent of all deaths globally in the industrialised world.
“These findings indicate significant promise for FT011 as a potential novel therapeutic for the treatment of fibrotic diseases and support our plans to advance this investigational drug into later-stage clinical trials,” said Professor Kelly.
“The precision and insight gained from this transformative and disruptive research could change the way we identify and treat patients with chronic kidney diseases.”
The findings were presented by nephrologist Dr Matthias Kretzler. Dr Kretzler is the principal investigator for the Nephrotic Syndrome Study Network (NEPTUNE).
Certa Therapeutics said NEPTUNE has recruited a prospective, longitudinal, observational cohort of more than 650 kidney disease patients with proteinuric and glomerular disease.
“Using this data set, there is a strong indication that treatment of patients with FT011 could mirror the positive impacts observed in the animal study in reversing the activation of molecular markers associated with fibrosis,” said Dr Kretzler.
“FT011 has demonstrated potential to be highly effective in the treatment of fibrotic disease. In my many decades of research, I have never seen such a significant result in our model in relation to the potential of a drug to treat fibrosis in CKD.”