Stealth Peptides launches mitochondrion targeting compound Bendavia at Experimental Biology 2011

Stealth Peptides Inc. (Stealth), a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing innovative mitochondrial therapies, introduced its lead clinical candidate, Bendavia™, a novel compound that targets the mitochondrion, during multiple scientific sessions of the Experimental Biology 2011 meeting. Experimental Biology is an annual meeting with an estimated 15,000 attendees across several fields of study that include biochemistry, molecular biology, nutrition, pharmacology and immunology. The 2011 meeting was held from April 9th through 13th in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington D.C.

During a Mitochondrial Function and Disease Symposium from the meeting's Biochemistry Sessions, Dr. Hazel Szeto of Cornell University, Stealth's founder, presented an overview of Bendavia and its potential for treating cardio-renal diseases and critical care conditions including severe burn and muscle trauma. Dr. Peter Rabinovitch, University of Washington, also presented an overview of Bendavia and its potential for treating age related disorders and heart failure during a Systems Biology of Oxidative Stress and Therapeutic Implications Symposium from the meeting's Pharmacology Sessions.

The initial clinical program for Bendavia is the treatment of ischemia reperfusion injury, a common complication of interventional procedures for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and coronary bypass surgery. Standard animal models for AMI demonstrate Bendavia's beneficial myocardial effects and confirm the significance of its novel mechanism of action, which preserves mitochondrial function under pathological conditions, for ischemia reperfusion injury.

Contrary to prior therapeutic strategies for ischemia reperfusion injury and AMI that focused on uni-targeted pathways, Bendavia and its mitochondrial directed actions address the more complicated, multifactorial nature of diseases. Specifically, Bendavia has been shown to improve electron transport efficiency, maintain mitochondrial respiration and adenosine triphosphate levels and prevent mitochondrial swelling and depolarization. Bendavia also appears to be a strong neurologic protectant, which holds promise as a treatment for cardiac arrest and stroke patients.

Stealth's CEO, Travis Wilson, remarked "Stealth is enthusiastic about the reception of Bendavia and its preclinical data following the symposiums for both Drs. Szeto and Rabinovitch. Based on the successful conclusion of our Phase I clinical trials and encouraging pharmacology data such as that presented during this year's Experimental Biology meeting, we feel that Bendavia has the potential to be a paradigm shifting therapy for mitochondrial dysfunction, which underlies many common diseases including cardio-renal, age and metabolic related disorders."

Stealth is currently initiating a multinational Phase II clinical study with Bendavia focused on ischemia reperfusion injury for patients experiencing acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Stealth's Phase II clinical trial is termed EMBRACE-STEMI™ for the Evaluation of the Myocardial effects of Bendavia for reducing Reperfusion injury in patients with Acute Coronary Events.