Atrial Fibrillation (AF)
Atrial fibrillation is the most common cardiac arrhythmia facing physicians with recent epidemiological studies estimating that there are over 11 million AF sufferers in the seven major economies. The prevalence of AF is predicted to increase two- to three-fold in the next 50 years. The most significant side effect of AF is stroke, and it is estimated that between 15 and 25% of strokes are caused by AF. Current therapies are problematic, and there is an undisputed requirement for a new generation of drugs that operate through novel mechanisms in this area of substantial unmet medical need.
Our atrial fibrillation programme is focused on potassium channels expressed preferentially in cardiac atrial myocytes. These targets are widely recognised by cardiologists as preferred targets for the development of therapeutics for the prevention of recurrence of atrial fibrillation, a highly desirable profile which is not addressed by the therapeutic agents that are currently available.
Our most advanced compound, XEN-D0101, is a modulator of the voltage-gated potassium channel Kv1.5 that shows excellent efficacy in pre-clinical in vivo models of AF and is currently in Phase I clinical development.
We are also developing modulators of the acetylcholine-regulated potassium channel IKACh which is a newly emerging target for atrial fibrillation.