Benzinga | Nov 10, 2021 08:06AM EST

Hepion Pharmaceuticals Says Co's Anti-Cancer Mechanism CRV431 Highlighted In Scripps Research Institute Poster At AASLD, The Liver Meeting 2021

Hepion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEPA), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on Artificial Intelligence ("AI")-driven therapeutic drug development for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis ("NASH") and other liver diseases, today announced that results from a study conducted by Dr. Philippe Gallay's research group at The Scripps Research Institute examining the anti-tumor mechanism of the Company's lead drug candidate, CRV431, will be available as an e-poster at the Liver Meeting(r) 2021, hosted by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), to be held virtually November 12-15, 2021.



Poster Details

* Poster #: 1768

* Title: Cyclophilin D Knockout Significantly Prevents HCC Development in a Streptozotocin-Induced Mouse Model of Diabetes-Linked NASH

* Session: NAFLD and NASH

* Authors: Stauffer, W.; Kuo, J.; Ure, D.; Foster, R.; Gallay, P.

About the Study

This animal model recapitulates NASH and, over a longer period of time, induces hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most prevalent type of liver cancer observed in NASH. Cyclophilin inhibition utilizing therapeutic agents, including Hepion's investigational drug candidate CRV431, have previously been shown to reduce tumor burdern in this model.

CRV431 inhibits many of the iso-forms of cyclophilins, enzymes involved in key aspects of disease progression. One of these important isoforms, cyclophilin D, was investigated at the Gallay Laboratory at Scripps Research Institute in mice lacking cyclophilin D. This particular isoform is an important component of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore and has a role in cell injury and death.

Wild type mice (not lacking in cyclophilin D) had HCC tumor burden scores that were three times greater than mice lacking cyclophilin D (p = 0.03). The study concluded that cyclophilin inhibition represents a novel class of compounds to treat HCC and that reductions in cyclophilin D are significantly protected from HCC.