Cereno Scientific identifies possibilities for expanding the use of its treatment concept in cardiovascular diseases

Through its Scientific Advisory Board, Cereno Scientific has identified the potential for the company’s treatment concept for cardiovascular diseases to inhibit, or even regulate, the progression of fibrosis. Fibrosis is a fundamental mechanism for the progress of several cardiovascular diseases. The company can thus expand the field of indication for its treatment concept with its drug candidates CS1 and CS014. An example of a new possibility is to prevent the progression of atrial fibrillation. One such expansion of indication could result in a significantly larger market potential than the company has previously communicated.

Fibrosis is a fundamental mechanism for impaired function (known as “remodelling”) in vital organs such as the heart, the kidneys and the blood vessels. The progression of fibrosis can cause atrial fibrillation, for example, which in turn is the greatest risk factor for blood clots and stroke. One of the mechanisms behind the progression of fibrosis is increased levels of the protein PAI-1, which Cereno Scientific’s primary drug candidate, CS1, has already proven able to reduce.

A newly published article (Scholtz et al., 2019) from a research group in Germany showed that valproic acid, the active substance in CS1, prevents atrial fibrillation in mice through slowing the progression of fibrosis in the atria. The study can be regarded as a proof of concept that CS1 has the potential to prevent atrial fibrillation.

The company’s Scientific Advisory Board has raised the point that this discovery means there is good grounds for expanding the application and use of Cereno Scientific’s treatment concept to also include the prevention of fibrosis and thus the potential of inhibiting the development of atrial fibrillation.

Currently, atrial fibrillation is the most common indication for the prescription of preparations to prevent thrombosis. With both a preventive effect on thrombosis and an effect on the progression of atrial fibrillation itself, a new market segment for the company’s treatment concept thus opens up.

“If we can treat fibrosis, and thus counteract atrial fibrillation, we can take the lead in the market segment that is absolutely the most common reason for thrombosis-preventing drugs today. This is naturally a very interesting possibility for CS1, in addition to being an effective treatment to prevent thrombosis without causing a tendency to bleed, to also become a treatment to modify an illness and a possible first choice in connection with various types of interventions to prevent thrombosis,” says Cereno Scientific CEO Sten R. Sörensen.

Cereno Scientific is now initiating a strategic initiative to identify which cardiovascular indications are best suited for expanding the company’s treatment concept in addition to the purely preventive indications for thrombosis.

“This opens up a whole menu of other potential CV indications. In addition to being an improved therapy for atrial fibrillation, CS1 could be useful in the remodelling associated with myocardial infarction (MI), and actually there is a recent study from my institution by Dr Shao Tian and coworkers that shows that VPA can reduce remodelling and infarct size (up to 50%) after coronary ligation in animals,” says Dr Bertram Pitt, the chair of Cereno Scientific’s Advisory Board.

According to the company’s Scientific Advisory Board, the capacity to prevent the progression of fibrosis can also be applied to other fibrosis-related diseases, for example renal fibrosis and heart failure. This also applies to less common diseases, with the accompanying possibility of orphan drug status.

For further information, please contact:
Daniel Brodén, CFO
Tel: +46 768 66 77 87
E-mail: info@cerenoscientific.com
www.cerenoscientific.se

About Cereno Scientific AB
Cereno Scientific is developing novel preventive medicine to treat thrombosis-related disease, based on the body’s own intelligent clot-busting system. Cardiovascular disease is currently the leading cause of death worldwide. Current therapies are connected to an increased risk of bleeding and, as a result, low effectiveness due to lower dosing levels. In turn, this leads to a high risk of new blood clots. Cereno Scientific’s drug candidate, CS1, is expected to provide a possibility for an effective prevention of thrombosis and a lower risk for serious bleeding complications than with current blood thinning therapies. CS1 is an innovative controlled release formulation of a known compound, and as such is expected to have a relatively short development time. In parallel with the development of CS1, Cereno Scientific develops CS014, a preclinical phase compound with promising and innovative characteristics in cardiovascular diseases. The Gothenburg-based company is located in AstraZeneca’s BioVenture Hub and is supported by GU Ventures. Cereno Scientific’s B share has been listed on Spotlight Stock market since June 2016 with the ticker CRNO B, ISIN SE0008241558.