"Peptide-Directed Highly Selective Targeting of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension" Selected by Faculty

Online, July 19, 2011 (Newswire.com) - A recently published paper from Vascular Biosciences (VBS) in collaboration with Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute and the University of South Alabama has been selected by the Faculty of 1000 (F1000) as one of the top 2 percent of all published articles in the biological and medical sciences in 2011. F1000 is a global collaboration of the world's leading scientists who identify and evaluate the most important articles in biology and medical research publications.

The paper, "Peptide-Directed Highly Selective Targeting of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension," is published in the current issue of the American Journal of Pathology, was authored by Takeo Urakami, Tero A.H. Järvinen, Michie Toba, Junko Sawada, Namasivayam Ambalavanan, David Mann, Ivan McMurtry, Masahiko Oka, Erkki Ruoslahti, and Masanobu Komatsu. The paper was selected for The Faculty of 1000 Biology by F1000 member Dr. Yuichiro Suzuki, Ph.D., Professor of Pharmacology at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

The article describes the discovery of CAR, a novel peptide that specifically targets and penetrates the vasculature of lungs affected by pulmonary arterial hypertension. Reviewer Suzuki commented, "Specific targeting of drugs to affected areas within the pulmonary vasculature should significantly advance the treatment strategies for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a serious and lethal condition. The authors discovered a peptide which specifically targets affected tissues of remodeled pulmonary vasculature, providing a promising technology for drug delivery to treat PAH patients."

"We are honored to have our paper highlighted by such a prestigious group as the Faculty of 1000. To have our paper selected by such an elite group of reviewers validates the tremendous potential our discoveries have in the PAH field," said senior author Dr. Masanobu Komatsu, Ph.D., of the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in Lake Nona, Florida.

First author Dr. Takeo Urakami, Ph.D., also of the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in Lake Nona, Florida, stated, "To our knowledge, this paper presents the first technology that allows for the selective targeting of PAH and we believe that the future breakthroughs in PAH lies in targeted therapies utilizing molecules like the CAR peptide. To have our paper considered to be among the top two percent of scientific articles in the biological and medical sciences by the F1000 further justifies our approach to the development of PAH treatments."

"Our goal as a company is to provide therapeutic solutions to improve the lives of those suffering from life-threatening diseases like PAH. We believe CAR has tremendous potential to help PAH patients and are honored to have our efforts and progress acknowledged by the Faculty of 1000," commented co-author and VBS Pharmaceuticals CEO, David Mann.