Tom Koestler To Momenta's Board: Some Aid, On M118 -- Its New Low Molecular Weight Anticoagulation Candidate?

Momenta has added Tom Koeslter -- the guy executing the science behind legacy Schering-Plough's Vorapaxar (that would-be, at-one-time successor to Plavix^®'s franchise, the same one which just turned up with some brain-bleed issues in two studies, in stroke patients, at least). Interesting.

Momenta must be hoping (at least in part) that adding Dr. Koestler to the board will give them practical insights on their proposed anti-coagulant, M118, a low molecular weight heparain design-concept. From the press release, and the M118 webpage, then:

. . . .Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company specializing in the characterization and engineering of complex drugs, announced the appointment of pharmaceutical veteran Thomas P. Koestler, Ph.D. to its Board of Directors. Currently serving as Executive-in-Residence at Vatera Holdings LLC, Dr. Koestler is the former Executive Vice President of Schering-Plough. . . .

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. . . .We believe that M118 has the potential to provide baseline anticoagulant therapy for patients diagnosed with ACS who are medically managed and who may or may not require coronary intervention in order to treat their condition, as well as for patients diagnosed with stable angina who require a coronary intervention. We believe that the properties of M118 observed to date in both preclinical and clinical investigations continue to support the design hypothesis and may provide physicians with a more flexible treatment option than is currently available. ACS includes several diseases ranging from unstable angina, which is characterized by chest pain at rest, to acute myocardial infarction, or heart attack, which is caused by a complete blockage of a coronary artery. Currently, a majority of patients are initially medically managed with an anti-clotting agent, such as LMWH or unfractionated heparin, or UFH, in combination with other therapies. An increasing proportion of ACS patients are also proceeding to early intervention with procedures such as angioplasty or coronary artery bypass grafting, or CABG. Both angioplasty and CABG require anticoagulant therapy to prevent clot formation during and immediately following the procedure. . . .

We shall see. [H/T Ed Silverman at Pharmalot.]