UHN Joins the Phase II Trial of LSALT Peptide Targeting Cardiac Surgery Associated-Acute Kidney Injury

TORONTO, April 03, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Arch Biopartners Inc., ("Arch" or the "Company") (TSX Venture: ARCH and OTCQB: ACHFF), announced today that Anesthesia Clinical Trials Unit (ACTU), an academic research organization in the Department of Anesthesia and Pain Management at the University Health Network (UHN), has joined the Phase II trial for LSALT peptide targeting the prevention and treatment of cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury (CS-AKI). LSALT peptide is the Company's lead drug candidate for preventing and treating inflammation injury in the kidneys, lungs and liver.

"Our team of investigators including Dr Cusimano and Dr Djaiani alongside with the ACTU is excited to be participating in this trial that may reduce the high burden of acute kidney injury in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. We aim to submit and obtain all necessary institutional approvals to be able to initiate the study at the Toronto General Hospital", said Dr. Karkouti (Director, ACTU).

The UHN clinical team has submitted an application to the local ethics board for permission to participate in the trial.

The addition of UHN as the second Canadian hospital site increases the number of trial sites to eight, with six active clinical sites in Turkey.

The CS-AKI Phase II trial is an international multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of LSALT peptide. The recruitment target for the trial is 240 patients. The primary objective of the trial is to evaluate the percentage of subjects with AKI within seven days following on-pump (heart-lung machine) cardiac surgery, defined by the KDIGO (Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes) criteria.

Details of the Phase II trial, entitled "Phase 2 Global, Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of LSALT peptide for the Prevention or Attenuation of Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) in Patients Undergoing On-Pump Cardiac Surgery" can be viewed at clinicaltrials.gov.

Cardiac Surgery-Associated Acute Kidney Injury (CS-AKI) and LSALT peptide

CS-AKI is often caused by ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) that reduces blood flow (ischemia) and thus oxygen in the kidney, causing kidney cell damage. Once blood flow is restored to normal (reperfusion), inflammation is triggered and injury to kidney cells is exacerbated. In the worst cases of AKI, kidneys fail, leading to kidney dialysis or kidney transplant. There is no treatment available in the market today that prevents acute kidney injury of the type commonly experienced by on-pump cardiac surgery patients.

LSALT peptide targets the dipeptidase-1 (DPEP-1) pathway and has been shown by Arch scientists and their collaborators to prevent IRI to the kidneys in pre-clinical models (video), providing the scientific rationale for Arch to use LSALT peptide in this CS-AKI trial. Details of their findings were published in the journal, Science Advances, titled "Dipeptidase-1 governs renal inflammation during ischemia reperfusion injury" by Lau et. al. and can be found along with previous peer-reviewed publications about DPEP-1 and LSALT peptide at the Company's website.

Advisory services and a funding contribution from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) announced by the Company in March 2023, will significantly offset the costs of the CS-AKI Phase II trial.

Incidence of Cardiac Surgery-Associated Acute Kidney Injury (CS-AKI)

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a known common complication in patients after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and other cardiac surgeries, including on-pump surgeries which increase the risk of AKI. The reported prevalence of CS-AKI is up to 30% and is independently associated with an increase in morbidity and mortality.

About UHN

UHN is Canada's No. 1 hospital and the world's No. 1 publicly funded hospital. With 10 sites and more than 20,000 members of TeamUHN, UHN consists of Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, The Michener Institute of Education at UHN and West Park Healthcare Centre. As Canada's top research hospital, the scope of research and complexity of cases at UHN have made it a national and international source for discovery, education and patient care.  

About Arch Biopartners

Arch Biopartners Inc. is a late-stage clinical trial company focused on preventing inflammation and acute organ injury. The Company is developing new drug candidates that inhibit inflammation in the lungs, kidneys, and liver via the dipeptidase-1 (DPEP-1) pathway and are relevant for common injuries and diseases where organ inflammation is an unmet problem.

For more information on Arch Biopartners' science and technologies, please visit: www.archbiopartners.com/our-science

For investor information and other public documents the company has also filed on SEDAR+, please visit www.archbiopartners.com/investor-hub

The Company has 62,755,633 common shares outstanding.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws regarding expectations of our future performance, liquidity and capital resources, as well as the ongoing clinical development of our drug candidates targeting the dipeptidase-1 (DPEP-1) pathway, including the outcome of our clinical trials relating to LSALT peptide (Metablok), the successful commercialization and marketing of our drug candidates, whether we will receive, and the timing and costs of obtaining, regulatory approvals in Canada, the United States, Europe and other countries, our ability to raise capital to fund our business plans, the efficacy of our drug candidates compared to the drug candidates developed by our competitors, our ability to retain and attract key management personnel, and the breadth of, and our ability to protect, our intellectual property portfolio. These statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs, including certain factors and assumptions, as described in our most recent annual audited financial statements and related management discussion and analysis under the heading "Business Risks and Uncertainties". As a result of these risks and uncertainties, or other unknown risks and uncertainties, our actual results may differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. The words "believe", "may", "plan", "will", "estimate", "continue", "anticipate", "intend", "expect" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. We undertake no obligation to update forward-looking statements, except as required by law. Additional information relating to Arch Biopartners Inc., including our most recent annual audited financial statements, is available by accessing the Canadian Securities Administrators' System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval ("SEDAR") website at www.sedarplus.ca.

The science and medical contents of this release have been approved by the Company's Chief Science Officer

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