Of the more than half a million individuals seeking hospital emergency care for acute symptoms of heart attack, approximately 38% are diagnosed with ST-Segment Elevated Myocardial Infarction (STEMI). It is the most severe type of heart attack, where timely medical intervention can spell the difference between life and death. As minutes tick by, preserving heart function by keeping oxygenated blood flowing to heart muscle is critical.
Now an innovative solution using a new anticlotting medicine, zalunfiban, is being trialed at multiple sites in seven countries in Europe and North America. The ongoing randomized, blinded, placebo controlled clinical study, called CeleBrate, is underway. The trial is estimated to end before summer 2025.
CeleBrate is enrolling patients who report experiencing chest pain for more than 10 minutes and request emergency care within 4 hours of symptom onset. An ambulance medical first responder or hospital emergency department technician or nurse administers zalunfiban (or a placebo) under the patient’s skin (subcutaneously, or SQ).
Barry Coller, MD, Physician in Chief and Vice President for Medical Affairs at Rockefeller University and 2015 Harrington Scholar-Innovator led the development of zalunfiban. Dr. Coller is excited about the drug’s potential to save heart muscle and help STEMI patients survive.
“A single dose of zalunfiban takes effect within about 15 minutes of administration,” he explains. “This inhibits the ability of blood platelets to aggregate – one of the major contributors to clot formation. In a Phase 2 study, treatment with zalunfiban at doses that potently inhibited platelets was associated with improved blood flow prior to conventional artery-opening therapies such as balloon angioplasty and/or stent placement.”
As of December 2024, more than 2,200 STEMI patients have been enrolled in CeleBrate and received one of two zalunfiban doses or a placebo. Another 299 patients are expected to be enrolled by Spring, 2025, making a study total of 2,499 patients, according to Dr. Coller.
American Heart Association Guidelines emphasize the importance of minimizing time to treatment for heart attack patients to increase survivability, yet many U.S. patients are not treated within the recommended time window. Zalunfiban treatment in the ambulance, or potentially in the future, via self-administration with an autoinjector based on a home electrocardiogram could further cut delays in STEMI treatment and minimize the damage to the heart.
Dr. Coller credits his experience as a Harrington Scholar-Innovator as having played a major role in the development of zalunfiban, providing crucial advice and resources to move the project forward at a critical point in its development.
Cardiovascular, Hematology, Oncology
Rockefeller University
Harrington Scholar-Innovator