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Acasti concludes CaPre versus Lovaza preclinical program

Acasti Pharma, a subsidiary of Neptune Technologies & Bioressources (Neptune), has concluded its preclinical program designed to compare the lipid management effects of Acasti's drug candidate CaPre versus prescription drug Lovaza.

Blood lipids were monitored in two animal models in order to assess and compare the efficacy of CaPre and Lovaza over a 12-week treatment period.

Acasti said that in the study, a low daily human equivalent dose of 1gm CaPre reduced LDL-C (bad cholesterol) levels by 40% and increased HDL-C (good cholesterol) by 180% in a normal rat model (SD) while 4gm of Lovaza did not show any significant effect.

Additionally, an even lower daily human equivalent dose of 0.5gm CaPre was shown to be as efficient as 4gm of Lovaza in reducing triglycerides levels by 40-50% in obese rats with severe diabetes and high triglycerides (ZDF).

Acasti Pharmaceutical R&D senior director Bruno Battistini said that the results suggest that a low (0.5gm to 1gm) daily dosing of CaPre is more effective than 4gm Lovaza in elevating HDL-C and lowering LDL-C and triglycerides.

"These effects become even more striking considering that a 1gm daily dose of CaPre contains 8.9 times less EPA and 11.1 times less DHA than the recommended 4gm daily dose of Lovaza," Battistini said.

"It is also important to note that the triglycerides reduction was observed only after 4 weeks and was maintained throughout the study suggesting a significant metabolic impact of CaPre."

Acasti COO Pierre Lemieux said that taken together, the present and previously disclosed data suggest that CaPre may be an effective alternative for the management of cardiometabolic disorders due to its therapeutic versatility and multiple applications including also a superiority over Lovaza on Omegas-3 Index and impaired glucose tolerance.

"This difference in activity is likely to be explained by the fact that phospholipids functionalise the omega-3 (EPA and DHA) contained in CaPre versus omega-3-acid ethyl ester in Lovaza," Lemieux said.

Acasti president Tina Sampalis said that this latest program gives them a great deal of confidence regarding the upcoming Phase II clinical trial for which they recently submitted a clinical trial application in Canada.