Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis announced on Dec. 23rd that it will buy San Francisco based Corthera for $120mm, giving it the right to develop drugs that prevent heart failure.  The acquisition is still subject to regulatory approval.

Corthera is a privately owned company that has been developing relaxin, a drug that prevents cardiac arrest in patients.  The drug is currently in its third trial phase and targets patients with acute decompensated heart failure.  Novartis wants to complete the development of the drug and plans to put it on the market in the U.S and Europe by 2013.  Corthera’s shareholders could receive additional payments if the drug is successful.  Analysts estimate that these payments could be as high as $500mm.

For those interested in biotech, according to Novartis, Phase II results of the drug relaxin show that it has “vasodilator effects (widens blood vessels), improves breathlessness, reduces cardiovascular morbidity and days in the hospital.”  Relaxin itself is a “recombinant version of a naturally occurring human peptide.  In its natural form, this peptide is responsible for relaxing the female reproductive tract as well as mediating the cardiovascular and renal changes during pregnancy.  In trials, relaxin is administered to hospitalized patients via a 48-hour infusion and has been shown to cause an increase in cardiac output, systemic and renal casodilation, which suggests potential benefits for patents with acute decompensated heart failure. ”

Further, Trevor Mundel, MD, Global Head of Development at Novartis AG claims that “despite a range of current treatment options, acute decompensated heart failure is the leading cause of hospitalization in people over age 65 and remains a major clinical challenge with a high and increasing incidence and substantial morbidity and mortality.  Acute decompensated heart failure, estimated to affect millions of people in the US and in Europe is a condition often associated with chronic heart disease where patients typically suffer from severe shortness of breath (dyspnea) and the heart’s ability to pump blood from the lungs is impaired.  As a result, the lungs become overfilled with fluid, which reduces oxygen uptake.  Diuretics and vasodilators are the current standard of care, but available agents from these classes have been associated with renal impairment, low blood pressure (hypotension) and adverse outcomes.”

Relaxin is expected to further strengthen the position of Novartis and its extensive range of cardiovascular medicines and development portfolio:

• Diovan (valsartan) – an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB), is the number one selling hypertension medication worldwide[1], and is indicated in chronic heart failure (NHYA class II – IV). Diovan has been shown to significantly reduce hospitalizations for heart failure.

• Tekturna/Rasilez (aliskiren) – a first-in-class direct renin inhibitor approved for treatment of hypertension that is also currently in Phase III studies for use in chronic heart failure.

• LCZ696 - a single molecule dual-acting angiotensin receptor blocker / neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI) that entered Phase III development in late 2009 for systolic heart failure.

• LCI699 – a Phase II and first-in-class aldosterone synthase inhibitor (ASI) being explored as a potential treatment for heart failure.

Relaxin also further complements the Novartis strategy to expand in acute cardiology care that includes elinogrel, an anti-platelet agent in Phase II development with potential to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. Novartis has hospital-based specialty sales forces in place to maximize the commercial potential of this development portfolio.

~IS

For more information, please visit the Novartis website….