Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation's stroke treatment advances in

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City),  May 11, 2005  by Journal Record Staff

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A new stroke treatment based on discoveries by Robert Floyd, an Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation scientist, is making progress in worldwide clinical trials.

Two companies - Renovis Inc. and AstraZeneca - are developing the drug, known as Cerovive. Last week the companies announced the first results from a clinical trial involving more than 1,700 patients show a statistically significant reduction versus placebo on the primary outcome of disability after an acute ischemic stroke (a stroke caused by a blocked artery), as measured by the Modified Rankin Scale. The incidence and profile of adverse events was similar to placebo.

We're quite encouraged by these results, said Floyd. The studies indicate that Cerovive is a very safe drug.

The results represent a real achievement in the development of neuroprotective agents for stroke, said Corey S. Goodman, president and CEO of Renovis. Cerovive is the first neuroprotectant treatment for acute ischemic stroke to show a statistically significant reduction of disability in a pivotal trial of this size and scope.

About 700,000 people in the U.S. suffer strokes each year.

AstraZeneca will continue trials to determine whether Cerovive, when administered up to six hours after a stroke, protects substantial portions of the brain that otherwise would have died. The trials are being conducted across 40 countries.

The drug is given intravenously and is based on work that Floyd did almost two decades ago. The OMRF researcher was looking at free radicals - highly reactive oxygen molecules that can disrupt or kill brain cells.

The work took an unexpected turn when Floyd and his team discovered that PBN, a compound he was using to capture free radicals, prevented brain injury, even when it was administered a full hour after a stroke.

This really was a serendipitous discovery, said Floyd. Suddenly, we went from examining what happens in a stroked brain to potentially improving vision, mobility and speech in stroke victims.

Cerovive is a compound closely related to PBN. Renovis, a California biopharmaceutical company, acquired the rights to the technology that arose from Floyd's early discoveries. Renovis licensed those rights to AstraZeneca, the British pharmaceutical company that is now conducting the clinical trials.

Right now, stroke patients have very few safe and effective options when it comes to protection against brain damage and other debilitating effects of stroke, said Floyd. If these trials prove successful, Cerovive could have a major impact on the lives of many, many people.

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