RESOURCES

Aortic valve stenosis is the most common and most serious valve disease problem affecting more than one million patients in North America each year. Aortic valve stenosis is the narrowing of the exit of the heart’s left ventricle, which reduces or blocks blood flow into the main artery and to the rest of the body. When the blood flow through the aortic valve is reduced or blocked, the heart needs to work harder to pump blood. Eventually, this extra work limits the amount of blood it can pump, and this can cause symptoms as well as possibly weaken the heart muscle. Untreated, this valve disease can lead to serious heart problems. 

Oxidized low density lipoprotein (oxLDL) is often implicated in common, chronic conditions caused by inflammation like aortic valve stenosis. Lipoprotein(a), or lp(a), is an inflammatory lipoprotein consisting of an oxLDL-like particle and molecule of apolipoprotein(a). Elevated Lp(a) is associated with accelerated progression of this disease and also increases a patient’s risk of a heart attack. 

Approximately 14 percent of aortic valve stenosis cases are due to elevated lipoprotein (a), and there are no medical treatment options currently available. However, Abcentra is developing a pipeline of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies for serious inflammatory diseases where medical treatments are either not available or better options are needed.

Abcentra is developing antibodies to treat aortic valve stenosis in patients with elevated lipoprotein(a) by inhibiting the assembly of lipoprotein(a). Our preclinical data demonstrates that orticumab can inhibit formation of Lp(a). By targeting this inflammatory lipoprotein, Abcentra aims to bring new, safer and more effective treatment options to patients suffering from serious, chronic conditions.  

Learn more about our science and view our pipeline for more information about other treatment options currently in development.