ARCA biopharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: ABIO), a biopharmaceutical company developing genetically-targeted therapies for cardiovascular diseases, today announced that it is planning to expand the development of Gencaro, its lead cardiovascular drug candidate, to atrial fibrillation, a disease that affects more than 2.4 million patients in the United States. Subject to obtaining additional funding, the Company anticipates initiating patient enrollment of a Phase 3 clinical trial in the first half of 2012 to evaluate Gencaro in patients who have symptomatic atrial fibrillation and heart failure with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (HFREF).
"At ARCA, we believe a personalized medicine approach to drug development, tailoring medical treatment to the individual genetic characteristics of each patient, can enable more effective therapies, improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs," said Dr. Michael R. Bristow, President and Chief Executive Officer of ARCA. "If our development program for Gencaro in atrial fibrillation successfully confirms atrial fibrillation data from the prior BEST study, Gencaro has the potential to be the first genetically targeted treatment for the prevention of this important cardiovascular disorder."
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