Clinical trials

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains a leading cause of global disability, yet current clinical management is limited to supportive care and pressure stabilization using hyperosmolar therapies like mannitol and hypertonic saline. These strategies fail to address the destructive cellular cascades that persist long after the initial impact, leaving 66.3% of severe TBI patients with permanent cognitive and neurological deficits. To bridge this critical unmet medical need, the therapeutic focus must shift toward neuroprotective and neuroregenerative agents that actively block secondary injury cascades such as excitotoxicity, apoptosis, and chronic neuroinflammation. Sovateltide is a selective endothelin-B receptor agonist. It was previously reported to reduce apoptosis, stimulate neurogenesis, and improve functional recovery. Unlike most TBI candidates restricted to preclinical phases, sovateltide possesses a robust human safety and tolerability profile established across Phase I, II, III, and IV ischemic stroke trials. We conducted a preclinical study in Wistar rats with induced TBI and showed that sovateltide effectively preserved BBB integrity, a critical determinant of post-injury outcomes, and significantly reduced neuronal apoptosis, as evidenced by decreased expression of caspase-3 and caspase-6, key markers of programmed cell death. Treated animals also exhibited notable improvements in neurobehavioral performance, reflecting functional recovery likely attributable to the drug's antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic mechanisms. These results align with earlier evidence showing that ETB receptor activation enhances angiogenesis, neurogenesis, and synaptic remodeling, processes essential for neural repair following brain injury. The present study has been designed to advance sovateltide (IRL-1620) into a pivotal Phase III clinical trial for acute traumatic brain injury (TBI). With millions affected annually and zero approved neuroprotective pharmacotherapies available, this milestone marks a critical step forward in addressing one of modern medicine's greatest unmet needs. By harnessing our proprietary neural repair discovery platform, sovateltide targets the cascade of secondary cell death while stimulating neurogenesis and angiogenesis. Building on the strong momentum of our ongoing global Phase III RESPECT-ETB study in acute ischemic stroke, this study will further validate the broad therapeutic potential of our endothelin-B receptor platform across severe acute neurovascular conditions.

This is a prospective, multi-centric, open-labeled, phase-IV clinical study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of centhaquine citrate (LYFAQUIN™), a first-in-class drug for treating hypovolemic shock, a life-threatening condition caused by severe blood or fluid loss. Centhaquine has been found to be an effective resuscitative agent in rat, rabbit, and swine models of hemorrhagic shock. It has demonstrated the ability to decrease blood lactate levels, increase mean arterial pressure, enhance cardiac output, and reduce mortality rates. The increase in cardiac output during resuscitation is primarily attributed to an augmentation in stroke volume. Centhaquine exerts its effects by acting on the venous α2B-adrenergic receptors, which enhances venous return to the heart. Additionally, it produces arterial dilation by targeting central α2A-adrenergic receptors, thereby reducing sympathetic activity and systemic vascular resistance.

This protocol is designed to develop a novel first-in-class treatment for use in critical care and life-threatening condition of hypovolemic shock with unmet need and is of national interest. Shock is a life-threatening condition of circulatory failure. It is a state of cellular and tissue hypoxia due to reduced oxygen delivery and/or increased oxygen consumption or inadequate oxygen utilization. Shock most commonly occurs when there is circulatory failure leading to reduced tissue perfusion. There are four types of shock: distributive, cardiogenic, hypovolemic, and obstructive. However, these are not exclusive, and many patients with circulatory failure have a combination of more than one form of shock (multifactorial shock).

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a life-threatening condition with a diffuse, inflammatory form of lung injury, causing pulmonary infiltration and respiratory failure leading to poor oxygenation. It is a rapidly progressive form of respiratory failure and accounts for approximately 10% of admissions to the intensive care unit (ICU) and has a high mortality (40%) in severe cases. Globally, approximately 3 million ARDS cases are reported each year, with around 200,000 cases seen in the United States. The etiology of ARDS could be pulmonary or extra-pulmonary. Patients with ARDS have symptoms like difficulty in breathing, shortness of breath, and cyanosis, and they may require assisted breathing/ventilatory support/extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. About 25% of ARDS patients need mechanical ventilation to support breathing; however, a ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI) is known to further exacerbate ARDS in many of them. In recent decades, numerous efforts have been made to develop therapies for treating/managing ARDS. Unfortunately, they have been largely unsuccessful or inconclusive, and at present, no effective pharmacological therapy for ARDS is available. Hence, development of better therapeutics for ARDS is an unmet need. Centhaquine is a first-in-class resuscitative agent for hypovolemic shock approved for marketing in India. Centhaquine has been found to be an effective resuscitative agent in rat, rabbit, and swine models of hemorrhagic shock. Its safety and tolerability have been demonstrated in a human phase I study in 25 subjects (CTRI/2014/06/004647). Results from multicentric, randomized, double-blind, parallel, controlled clinical phase II (CTRI/2017/03/008184) and phase III (CTRI/2019/01/017196) studies conducted in India indicate that centhaquine is a novel, first-in-class, highly effective resuscitative agent for hypovolemic shock. A total of 155 patients with hypovolemic shock have been studied in the combined phase II and III trials, while a multicentric phase IV study (NCT05956418) in 400 patients with hypovolemic shock is currently being conducted in India. The outcomes of the completed trials indicate that centhaquine is safe and reduces mortality significantly (P=0.0271) compared to standard treatment of hypovolemic shock. In the phase II and III studies, ARDS and MODS were evaluated as secondary endpoints. Centhaquine provided hemodynamic stability and significantly reduced ARDS and multiple organ dysfunction score (MODS) in patients enrolled in these trials, which suggests that centhaquine has potential beyond treating hypovolemic shock and could be useful for ARDS treatment. Centhaquine is likely to provide hemodynamic stability, improve tissue oxygenation, reduce pulmonary edema, reduce ARDS score, and reduce MODS in patients with ARDS.

Extensive research is being conducted in search of neuroprotective agents for possible use in the acute phase of stroke and agents that can be used for neurorepair in later stages of stroke. Several trials have been conducted and are in progress using different pharmacological agents, but none of the studies involve the stimulation of ETB receptors to treat cerebral ischemic stroke. Sovateltide (IRL-1620, PMZ-1620) has been effective in animal models of cerebral ischemic stroke. Its safety and tolerability have been demonstrated in a human phase I study with 7 subjects. Clinical phase II and III results indicate that sovateltide is a novel, first-in-class, highly effective drug candidate for treating cerebral ischemic stroke. Safety and significant efficacy in improving the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), Modified Rankin scale (mRS), and Barthel index (BI) obtained in phase II and III studies in patients with cerebral ischemic stroke in India are convincing and encouraged us to investigate its safety and efficacy in cerebral ischemic stroke patients in the United States. Therefore, the plan is to conduct a phase III clinical study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of sovateltide therapy along with standard of care in patients of acute ischemic stroke.

Sovateltide (PMZ-1620; IRL-1620) is targeted to be used as a "Treatment for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy in neonates," which is a life-threatening condition. Sovateltide augments neuronal progenitor cell differentiation and better mitochondrial morphology and biogenesis to activate a regenerative response in the central nervous system. The only treatment for HIE is therapeutic hypothermia with limited success, and studies indicate that sovateltide may be beneficial in these patients.

This was a prospective, multicentric, randomized, double blind, parallel, saline controlled Phase II clinical study to compare the safety and efficacy of PMZ-1620 (INN: Sovateltide) therapy along with standard supportive care in patients of acute spinal cord injury.