ViroGates Announces Publication of New Study Showing SuPAR Causes Cardiovascular Disease

5.10.2022 14:26:53 CET | ViroGates | company announcement

COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENT – N° 23-2022 – October 5, 2022

BIRKEROD, DENMARK – ViroGates A/Sa medical technology company developing blood tests for better triage in hospitals to improve patient care and reduce healthcare costs, announces that a study published on October 4, 2022 in The Journal of Clinical Investigation States: “Based on clinical, genetic and experimental data, a collaborative study between researchers from UNITED STATES, Sweden and Denmark shows that suPAR is a pathogenic factor of cardiovascular diseases”The study can be downloaded via this link: https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI158788.

The study used a combination of suPARnostic® products from ViroGatesgenetic sequencing and experimental mouse and tissue models to show that suPAR levels were predictive of coronary artery calcification and cardiovascular events in 5,406 participants with no known coronary artery disease.

The results are consistent with previous studies showing the ability of suPARnostic® to predict cardiovascular disease. This new study, however, was conducted to determine whether suPAR itself is a factor that causes disease rather than simply reflecting it.

To determine causation, the researchers measured suPAR and performed genetic analysis on more than 25,000 individuals. The high suPAR-associated mutation was confirmed to provide higher levels of suPAR when expressed in cells and mice and showed that overexpression of suPAR in mice caused atherosclerotic plaques, a common cardiovascular condition that can lead to strokes and other heart diseases.

The causal role of suPAR was finally confirmed by data from a UK biobank, which confirmed that the particular mutation that gives higher suPAR was associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Additionally, a rare mutation associated with lower suPAR levels was associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.

The general conclusion is that the study shows that suPAR is responsible for the development of cardiovascular diseases. For ViroGates, suPAR can now be considered as a target for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Based on the findings, ViroGates will investigate opportunities and potential pharmaceutical partnerships within cardiology to improve patient risk stratification to provide new treatment solutions that lower suPAR and provide better prognosis for individuals and patients.

Jesper Eugen OlsenCSOs of ViroGatessaid: “The fact that suPAR is not only predictive of cardiovascular disease, but itself causes disease is an entirely new paradigm for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease. suPAR can now be considered as a treatment and monitoring target. The new findings indicate that people with high suPAR levels should undergo lifestyle changes or treatment for the inflammatory condition to reduce suPAR levels. Additionally, the study opens up to develop novel anti-suPAR therapies that could prevent the disease in high-risk individuals.”

Jacob KnudsenCEO of ViroGatessaid:“We are delighted to see this landmark publication for suPAR research and our suPARnostic® products. We have known for years that suPARnostic® could predict cardiovascular diseases. However, the fact that suPAR directly contributes to the development of the disease opens up new commercial opportunities. We will be able to target drug development for cardiovascular diseases, as clinical trials should incorporate suPARnostic® to select the right patient population. This is comparable to the SAVE-MORE study which focused on the selection of COVID-19 patients for treatment with anakinra based on their suPAR levels. Additionally, we will have a strong value proposition for commercial players targeting the general health screening market since cardiovascular disease is the largest target for disease screening in the general population. This market was previously mainly screened by, for example, cholesterol markers”.

The announcement is available at https://www.virogates.com/investor/announcements

For more information, please contact:

ViroGates A/S:

CEO, Jacob Knudsen

Such. (+45) 2226 1355, email: jk@virogates.com

Certified Advisor:

Vastra Hamnen Corporate Finance

By Lönn

Such. (+46) 40 200 250, e-mail: per.lonn@vhcorp.se

About ViroGates

ViroGates A/S is a global medical technology company that develops and markets blood test products under the suPARnostic® brand for better triage in hospitals to improve patient care, reduce healthcare costs and empower clinical staff.

The company was founded in 2000. Based in Denmark, ViroGates’ sales force covers the Nordic countries, Spainand Francewhile distributors serve other markets. ViroGates’ (VIRO) are listed on Nasdaq First North Growth Market Denmark. For more information, please visit www.virogates.com.

About suPAR and suPARnostic®

suPAR is the biomarker detected by ViroGates’ suPARnostic® products and is a measurable plasma protein in every human being. suPAR is considered a general biomarker of risk status indicating the presence of disease, disease severity and progression, organ damage, and mortality risk in disease areas such as cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, etc. Strong scientific evidence from over 850 clinical trials and studies shows that the higher the level of suPAR, the worse the prognosis for the patient.

suPARnostic® products can be used to help healthcare professionals make clinical decisions about hospitalization or discharge of acute care patients. Growing demands on healthcare systems globally and tightening healthcare budgets require efficiency improvements and innovative solutions in hospitals. Using suPAR in clinical routine in emergency departments can improve patient care and reduce healthcare costs by increasing the number of discharges by up to 34% and reducing the average length of hospital stay by up to 6 % without affecting mortality. suPARnostic® TurbiLatex is currently available on Roche Diagnostics cobas®, Siemens Healthineers ADVIA® XPT and Atellica® instruments and Abbott Labs Architect™ and Alinity™ instruments, and on the Beckman Coulter AU58000 system. ViroGates works with partners to develop solutions for other platforms.

Disclosure Policy

Future prospects reflect ViroGates’ current expectations for future events and results. Statements inherently involve risks, uncertainties and other matters that are difficult to predict or out of control. Actual results may therefore differ from the expectations expressed.

contacts

• Jacob KnudsenCEO, +45 2226 1355, jk@virogates.com

Attachments

• 20221005-ViroGates Comp. Anne. 23.pdf

© Ritzau Denmark, source Ritzau English Regulatory Notices