The company has received approval to commence its first clinical study for its lead compound AP30663.

The phase 1 study in healthy subjects will be conducted at the Centre for Human Drug Research (CHDR) in the Netherlands and is due to start in March 2018.

Acesion is developing a portfolio of drugs addressing both acute and persistent AF. Their approach is based on inhibition of SK channels – ion channels present in the atria that play a role in regulating the cardiac rhythm. Blocking these ion channels with a functionally atrial selective drug helps avoid deleterious effects on the ventricles. Targeting the SK channels thereby constitutes a novel and promising approach for an effective treatment of AF with an expected higher safety and tolerability profile.

With the approval of the CTA, Acesion will start the Phase 1 study of AP30663 in March 2018 to determine the safety and tolerability profile of a single ascending dose in healthy subjects. AP30663 has successfully completed the preclinical development program demonstrating a good safety profile and efficacy in converting AF to a normal sinus rhythm.

New appointments

Acesion has also appointed a group of scientific advisors comprising world-renowned experts in atrial fibrillation, including: Prof John Camm, Professor of Clinical Cardiology at St George’s Hospital Medical School, University of London and Professor of Cardiology at Imperial College London Dr Jeremy Ruskin, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Founder and Director Emeritus of the Cardiac Arrhythmia Service at Massachusetts General Hospital Prof Dobromir Dobrev, Professor at the Institute of Pharmacology at the Universitätsklinikum Essen, Germany Bob Humphries, pharmacologist with 30+ years of pharma experience (Fisons, Astra and AstraZeneca) as scientific and cross-functional project team leader.