New Stroke Treatment Aims to Reduce Bleeding Risk

Researchers published a study last week on a new potential stroke treatment in a class all its own. The compound has just completed its first human trial, and the results are promising. If all continues to go well, a stroke treatment that causes little to no bleeding could be on the horizon.

The new stroke treatment just completed its first round of human trials, and it appears to have all the benefits of blood thinners without the added risk of bleeding. The novel compound, ACT017, targets only a specific protein found on platelets, glycoprotein VI (GPVI). The reduction in GPVI keeps clots from building and forming in the veins and arteries, while still allowing the platelets to stop bleeds when they do occur.

The Current Problem

People get blood clots for a variety of reasons, including inflammatory conditions, certain types of infections and some forms of cancer, but clot prevention treatment is typically the same. Doctors currently prescribe blood thinners or low-dose aspirin regimens to their patients at risk, but these medications can carry risks of their own. Their most dangerous potential side effect is uncontrolled bleeding, which can occur internally and can be deadly.

Novel New Treatment

Researchers have developed a compound that may be able to treat and prevent blood clots without as much potential for bleeding. ACT017 isn’t a blood thinner, it’s an antibody targeted specifically to destroy a key clotting protein found in platelets called glycoprotein VI (GPVI). It was fashioned after a similar antibody, Fab 9O12, which targets the same proteins in mice.

The reduction in GPVI appears to keep platelets from clumping in the veins and arteries, while still allowing them to do their job when bleeding does occur. ACT017’s action can be reversed within 24 hours, if needed, with no lasting effects. The initial human trial used healthy adult subjects, but the next phase is set to test on patients who’ve survived ischemic strokes. If all goes according to schedule, the study will be complete in January of 2020.

ACT017 could change the face of stroke and blood clot treatment, allowing doctors to offer their patients a higher level of safety while under care. Just as importantly, people who rely on blood thinners may soon have one less dangerous side effect to worry about. More news on this story will be available after the next phase of the study has been completed.

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