Patients who received the new drug Bendavia before undergoing angioplasty or receiving a stent to clear blocked arteries after a heart attack showed no significant reduction in scarring as compared to patients given a placebo, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's 64th Annual Scientific Session.
The study is the first randomized, controlled trial of Bendavia, a drug designed to reduce the extent of tissue damage in the heart through a new approach that targets mitochondria in the cells. Although patients receiving the drug showed a 10 percent reduction in scarring during the first three days after surgery as measured by the levels of an enzyme called creatinine kinase-MB, the study's primary endpoint, the difference was not statistically significant. The results also suggested a trend toward improved heart pumping function during the eight hours following the drug's administration, but that trend also did not reach statistical significance.
