Resolve Therapeutics and Duke Medical School Initiate Observational Study of Cell-free RNA in Polytrauma Patients

Resolve Therapeutics, a leader in the emerging field of cell-free nucleic acid therapeutics, today announced a collaboration with the Department of Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine to analyze the role of cell-free RNA (cfRNA) in polytrauma www.resolvetherapeutics.com. A significant number of trauma patients admitted to the hospital each year suffer from polytrauma, with multiple, life-threatening injuries requiring immediate surgical intervention. Many of these patients experience poor clinical outcomes due to Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS). The mechanism of SIRS in polytrauma patients is not completely understood but the current view holds that that massive tissue injury results in the release of large amounts of RNA into the blood overwhelming the activity of circulating RNase, which protects cells from the inflammatory effects of cfRNA under normal circumstances. The accumulating cfRNA activates several key mechanisms driving local and systemic inflammation which leads to increased morbidity and mortality.

Working closely with the world’s foremost trauma surgeons at Duke University, Resolve and Duke will conduct an observational study to analyze the presence, structure, and drug targeting of cfRNA in a selected population of polytrauma patients. Based on the results of this work, a proof-of-concept clinical trial with RSLV-132 (a fully human, catalytically active, RNase Fc fusion protein) may be undertaken seeking to improve clinical outcomes for polytrauma patients by removing circulating inflammatory nucleic acids.

“We are thrilled to work with the world class physician scientists within the Duke University School of Medicine and are hopeful our work together may lead to an improvement in the outcome for patients with polytrauma,” commented Dr. James Posada chief executive officer of Resolve Therapeutics. “Duke Surgery offers a unique environment, coupling state of the art patient care with basic research expertise and infrastructure to enable systematic molecular analysis of plasma-borne inflammatory nucleic acids.”

“Preventing systemic inflammation in polytrauma would be a large step forward in the treatment paradigm for these patients,” said Allan D. Kirk, MD, PhD, Chair of the Department of Surgery at Duke University. “We look forward to the collaboration with Resolve and learning more about the underlying mechanisms of inflammation in critically injured patients,” he added.

About RSLV-132

RSLV-132 is a safe, fully-human, non-immunosuppressive, non-immunogenic, biologic drug with a three-week serum half-life. The drug is comprised of catalytically active human RNase fused to an engineered Fc region of human IgG1. It is designed to remain in circulation and digest extracellular pathogenic RNA in diseases where the presence of cfRNA drives the inflammatory process. RSLV-132 has proven safe in five clinical trials and has demonstrated improvement in autoimmune symptoms in phase 2 clinical trials in both systemic lupus erythematosus and Sjogren’s syndrome.

About Resolve Therapeutics

Resolve is a biopharmaceutical company at the forefront of the emerging field of cell-free nucleic acids in disease. We are developing RSLV-132 and RSLV-145 in a broad range of acute and chronic diseases that are driven by cell-free RNA, cell-free DNA, and Neutrophil Extracellular Traps (NETs). For more information or to discuss our programs please visit: https://resolvetherapeutics.com/

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