AZ picks Covid-19 vaccine rival Moderna to work on new heart failure drug

AstraZeneca (AZ) decided to team up with Moderna, a rival Covid-19 vaccine maker, to develop a new treatment for heart failure.

AZ’s investigational drug with Moderna’s mRNA technology, which can be injected directly into a patient’s heart, showed a potential to treat heart failure by restoring damaged heart cells.

AstraZeneca and Moderna have teamed up to develop an mRNA treatment for heart failure.

AZ released the results from the phase 2a EPICCURE trial of AZD8601, an experimental treatment under co-development with Moderna, on Monday at the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Scientific Sessions 2021.

ADZ8601 is an mRNA agent encoding vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-A). AZ conducted the first clinical trial injecting mRNA directly into the heart of patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) surgery.

According to data from the EPICCURE study that compared AZD8601 with placebo on 11 patients, AZD8601 met the primary endpoint signaling a positive safety and tolerability in heart failure patients.

Seven patients received AZD8601, and four received a placebo.

The company said that the researchers could observe trends in three exploratory efficacy endpoints – left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), NT-proBNP, and functional patient-reported outcomes – that were positive for the treated group.

In terms of safety, there were no deaths or treatment-related serious adverse events, and no infections were observed.

“Although the data is limited to show a significant effect, it provides an opportunity for AZ to move to further trials with AZD8601,” an official at AZ said.

Mene Pangalos, executive vice president of BioPharmaceuticals R&D at AstraZeneca, said over one billion heart cells could be lost during a heart attack.

“These early results indicate the potential of mRNA therapeutics in stimulating VEGF-A production to provide reparative and disease-modifying options for patients with heart failure and other ischemic vascular diseases.”

Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, said mRNA was a “compelling therapeutic modality” thanks to its ability to act locally and transiently while driving dose-dependent protein expression.

“The results presented today are a result of pushing new boundaries in the treatment of cardiovascular and other ischemic vascular diseases and address serious unmet needs with the goal of improving patients’ lives.”