CaPre drug candidate effective in managing impaired glucose tolerance

Nov 4 2010

Neptune Technologies & Bioressources Inc. ("Neptune") (Nasdaq:NEPT) (TSX.V.NTB) subsidiary Acasti Pharma Inc. ("Acasti") reports preclinical results showing that its leading drug candidate CaPre™, performed significantly better than the currently marketed drug, Lovaza®, at managing impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) a serious pre-diabetic state associated with increased risk of diabetes and heart disease.

The results of the present preclinical study indicate that CaPre™ significantly improved the established IGT found in ZDF rats (compared to normal healthy Sprague-Dawley rats), as compared to Lovaza® after one and three months of oral daily administration. Daily treatment with 0.5g CaPre™ reduced IGT by 21% after only one month and further reduced IGT by up to 35% after three months compared to Lovaza® which achieved a 5% reduction after three months of treatment.

"These results clearly demonstrate that CaPre™ not only has the ability to modulate favorably blood lipids, but also the ability to potentially lower the detrimental effects of impaired glucose tolerance associated with increased morbidity in cardiometabolic patients, When compared to Lovaza®, our data suggests for CaPre™ a more complete overall effect at a significantly lower and easier to tolerate daily dose" said Dr. Farhad Amiri, Associate-Director, Preclinical Studies.

"These results along with previously reported beneficial lipid-management effects of CaPreÔ, repeatedly shown to significantly reduce triglycerides and LDL ("bad cholesterol") while increasing HDL ("good cholesterol"), suggest that Acasti's prescription drug candidate CaPre™ potentially offers a more complete lipid management in cardiometabolic patients that are characterized by having both dyslipidema and impaired glucose tolerance than currently available options", said Dr. Tina Sampalis, President of Acasti. 

Adult male rats of an established model of severe dyslipidemia and type 2 diabetes, received either 0.5g CaPre™ or 4g Lovaza® in daily human equivalent dosing (HED) over 12 consecutive weeks. At the end of each month, rats were fasted for 12 hours and underwent an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT), a routine test for diabetic patients. Briefly, blood glucose levels were measured after 12 hours (overnight) of fasting and then every 30 minutes for 3 hours after ingesting a glucose load.

Lovaza® is the only FDA approved prescription fish oil solely indicated for the treatment of severe hypertriglyceridemia (very high triglycerides >500mg/dl). According to market research firm IMS Health, global sales of Lovaza® topped $1 billion in 2009, with $758 million of those sales originating in the U.S. GlaxoSmithKline PLC (LSE/NYSE:GSK) acquired the USA rights to Lovaza® by its acquisition of Reliant Pharmaceuticals Inc., in 2007 for $1.65 billion.