SAN FRANCISCO– PulmoSIM Therapeutics (PulmoSIM), the pharmaceutical subsidiary of VeriSIM Life, Inc., is pleased to announce today that it has entered into a strategic partnership with the investigators from National Jewish Health and Brown University for the clinical development of PT001, a drug that targets multiple responsible pathways in PAH to provide curative treatment. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently granted orphan drug designation for PT001 for the treatment of PAH.
“We’re thrilled as we embark on our clinical trials program for PT001, and look forward to applying for the Investigational New Drug Application (IND) very soon,” said Dr. Jo Varshney, DVM, PhD, CEO PulmoSIM. “PAH is a rare but fatal disease where the only cure is a lung transplant. We are leveraging VeriSIM Life’s Virtual Drug Development Engine, BIOiSIM, to prioritize the development of PT001, which, unlike currently available therapeutics, has the ability to stop and reverse the progression of PAH.”
PAH is a rare, progressive and life-threatening disease impacting 2-5 per million adults. It’s characterized by high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs with accompanying right heart failure. There is a critical unmet need for treatments that could delay, or reverse, the disease progression in patients.
“The great benefit of PT001 is its potential to not only ease symptoms but further halt or reverse the progression of PAH; we are excited to start this clinical-trial collaboration with our partners,” said Dr. Vivek Gupta, PhD, Scientific Founder of PulmoSIM. “Current treatments for PAH do not stop the underlying drivers of the disease, hence there is an urgent need for therapies that can address the progression checkpoints.”
“PAH is a chronic disease and we recognize the importance of developing a curative treatment,” said Tim Lahm, MD, who is joining National Jewish Health as a Professor of Medicine and Director of Pulmonary Vascular Biology in Fall-2021. “We are excited to work with the PulmoSIM team and clinical investigator-partner from Brown University to develop PT001 further to show its clinical efficacy.”
Corey E. Ventetuolo, MD, MS, an Associate Professor at Brown University, and Associate Director of the Rhode Island Hospital Pulmonary Hypertension Center, said, “I am very excited to be a part of this collaboration to accelerate the development of PT001 toward a curative treatment in the fight against this devastating disorder, which will require the integration and coordination of expertise across multiple fields of study. I’m glad to play a role in the design and execution of the clinical trials.”
