Speedel's second wave

Lack of oral bioavailability has been an impediment to the development of renin inhibitors, a promising new class of hypertension compounds. Last week, Speedel Group announced Phase I and preclinical data that it says show its SPP600 series of renin inhibitors have up to 10-fold better bioavailability and better tissue distribution than other renin inhibitors. As a result, Speedel thinks the compounds could provide greater organ protection than other products in development.

In the 6-patient Phase I study, SPP630 and SPP635 had oral bioavailability of up to 30%. Aliskiren, the renin inhibitor closest to market, has bioavailability of only 3% in humans, according to Chris Jensen, director of pharmacology. Indeed, Speedel developed Aliskiren (SPP100) from lead optimization through the end of Phase II trials for Novartis AG, which is conducting Phase III trials. ...