Drug From Bat Saliva Treats Stroke

An investigational plasminogen activator called desmoteplase, made from the saliva of a vampire bat, can treat ischemic stroke patients up to nine hours after the onset of symptoms.

The only drug currently approved for treating ischemic stroke is tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), which must be administered within three hours after the onset of symptoms. Since most stroke patients arrive at the hospital after the treatment window has closed, they are not eligible for tPA treatment. Lengthening this window would expand the number of patients who could benefit from treatment.

A phase IIb/III trial called DIAS2 (desmoteplase in acute ischemic stroke) has been initiated to study the drug in more than 150 patients to confirm the results of two earlier studies that demonstrated its potential to treat patients up to nine hours following onset of symptoms. The results of the earlier studies, presented at the annual meeting of the International Stroke Conference in New Orleans (LA, USA) in February 2005, showed improved blood flow in the damaged area of the brain and improved clinical outcome after 90 days, compared to placebo.

Desmoteplase is a genetically engineered version of a clot-busting agent found in the saliva of the vampire bat, Desmodus rotundus. It possesses high fibrin selectivity, with the potential to dissolve a clot locally without adversely affecting the blood coagulation system, possibly reducing the risk of intracranial bleeding. The drug was licensed to Forest Laboratories (New York, NY, USA; www.frx.com) by Paion GmbH (Aachen, Germany; www.paion.de). Forest is responsible for regulatory and sales and marketing activities in the United States and Canada, while Paion retains commercial rights in Europe, Japan, and the rest of the world.

"The consistent results from two completed studies of desmoteplase in patients with acute stroke strongly support moving forward to further assess this potential breakthrough treatment in a large-scale worldwide trial,” said primary investigator Anthony Furlon, M.D., medical director of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation (OH, USA).





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