MONT-SAINT-GUIBERT, Belgium, December 20, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The Belgian biotechnology company, Cardio3 BioSciences, a leader in the discovery and development of regenerative and protective therapies for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, today announces positive pre-clinical results from its in-house product candidate C3BS-GQR-1, a "cardiopoietic" cocktail designed to treat patients suffering from acute myocardial infarction in order to protect cardiac tissue from damage and direct heart stem cells to mature and restore pump function. This therapeutic candidate diversifies the product portfolio of Cardio3 BioSciences offering regeneration without the need for stem cell injection. This newest innovation builds on an ongoing collaboration with Mayo Clinic investigators.

C3BS-GQR-1 aims to effectively treat acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) by protecting heart tissues at the time of injury, and by promoting activation of resident progenitor cells. C3BS-GQR-1 greatly increases the potential of self-repair exploiting thereby the intrinsic regenerative capacity of the heart itself.

The Cardio3 BioSciences blinded study demonstrates that in an established large animal model of myocardial infarction,C3BS-GQR-1 successfully protects the myocardium and directs the maturation and commitment of resident cardiac stem cells into functional tissue. This led to a significant70% reduction in scar size versus baseline,six weeks after infarction, as well as an increase in heart wall thickening and contractility measured by Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Microscopic analysis tracked the outcome of "cardiopoietic" cocktail treatment on resident cardiac stem cell function in the repair of the injured heart.

Dr Christian Homsy, CEO of Cardio3 BioSciences, said: "The 70% reduction in infarct size observed in this pre-clinical study, if further validated in human trials, has the potential to revolutionise the treatment of acute myocardial infarction. The prospect of such a significant regenerative response occurring in the freshly injuredheart would profoundly influence quality of life in these patients. C3BS-GQR-1 will be further developed as a sustained release formulation either as a standalone product or coupled with other therapeutic platforms like drug eluting stents. The progressof our C3BS-GQR-1 programmedeepens our product pipeline, opens new avenues for the treatment of heart attacks and reinforcesour position as a leader in cardiac regenerative medicine. This creates a solid base in addressing acute myocardial infarction complementing our existing clinical focus on heart failure and our lead product C3BS-CQR-1 (C-Cure(R)), which has also recently demonstrated significant functional and clinical benefit in a Phase II clinical trial."