The pipeline
VLR199 (the lead candidate): works in the same way as sotatercept (Winrevair), by trapping proteins of the activin family that drive the abnormal growth of cells in the lung vessels. The aim is to improve on aspects of sotatercept that may not be “fully optimised”. First clinical results showing whether it works are expected in 2028.
VLR247 and VLR258: similar drugs designed to leave two other proteins, BMP-9 and BMP-10, untouched. Blocking these has been linked to blood-related side effects, so these candidates may be safer.
VLR360: an antibody that blocks PDGF-B, another signalling pathway involved in the disease. It could be used alone or combined with the other candidates.
Wider ambitions
The company also plans to test these drugs in other forms of pulmonary hypertension, including pulmonary hypertension linked to heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (Group 2 of the World Health Organisation (WHO) classification), and to interstitial lung disease (Group 3 of the World Health Organisation (WHO) classification. Their argument is that these conditions share the same imbalance in growth signals that drives pulmonary arterial hypertension.
What it means for patients
These drugs are at an early stage, with no clinical data yet, so any benefit is still several years away. The main interest is that a new generation of drugs like sotatercept is being designed to be safer and to reach more patients, including those with forms of pulmonary hypertension that currently have few or no approved treatments.
Read more at this link on FirstWord Pharma