> Treatment

Revolutionising Treatment Following Myocardial Infarction.

Forcefield Therapeutics is pioneering three proteins with the natural ability to retain heart function after myocardial infarction (MI) by preserving cardiomyocytes, sustaining cardiac function and preventing clinical changes in the heart.
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Restorative Actions

Responding to the urgent need to minimise the impact of myocardial infarction and prevent further cardiomyocyte death, we have identified three naturally occurring cardioprotectant proteins, with separate restorative actions.

Revitalise

Revitalise heart function preventing
progression to heart failure

Remove, Recycle & Restore

Remove, recycle and restore damaged cardiomyocyte proteins

Protect

Protect damaged/dying cardiomyocytes keeping them healthier for longer

 

Cardioprotective Biology

Forcefield’s novel approach stimulates cardioprotective biology as shown in proof-of-principle studies.

Our cardioprotectant proteins prevent cardiomyocytes dying and improve long-term outcomes. They do this via 4 key mechanisms, namely: prevention of apoptosis, anti-fibrosis, enhancing autophagy and improving metabolic fitness.

Other treatments tested in the clinic have failed to demonstrate these combination of effects (cyclosporine, cardiac ischaemic post-conditioning, sodium nitrite and MYDGF).

> In our gold-standard mouse studies, the three proteins outperformed existing treatments.

These studies showed that the proteins successfully preserved left ventricular function compared to control treated animals at d15 post-MI, with significantly larger diastolic volume at d60 post-MI when heart failure occurs in controls.
There was no evidence of pathological remodelling in treated animals. As early as d2 post-MI the positive cellular effect of these proteins was observed to include prevention of cardiomyocyte apoptosis by TUNEL staining of heart tissue and removal of cellular damage by autophagy shown by LC3 positive autophagosomes and autophagic flux. Lastly, one of the proteins had a profound anti-fibrotic effect, preventing fibroblast activation and scarring through suppression of TGF-beta mediated pathology.
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Our Approach

We intend to develop this therapy as an easily and acutely administered formulation enabling rapid treatment post-myocardial infarction before heart damage becomes irreversible.

Short-term treatment provides both a short- and long-term solution, preserving cardiac function and preventing likely progression to heart failure. This approach is designed to be used in combination with the existing Standard of Care (SOC) in the critical period immediately after MI.

We will develop a biopharmaceutical with a safe and efficacious mode of action (MoA) and ease of manufacturing. The three proteins are known but have not previously been applied to treat MI.

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Simplicity

Revolutionising Treatment

Long-term benefit

Safe and Efficacious
 

Single i.v. dose

Naturally occurring protein
added to SOC

Manufacturing

Standard manufacturing process

A transformational search engine that has enabled us to discover a totally new way to protect the heart after MI.

FunSel is a completely new way of discovering drugs – Functional selection, removing the bias built into previous drug discovery which is always disease or target focused. FunSel is gene and mechanism of action agnostic, based instead on the physiology of the organ and disease in question.

Platform