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aptaTargets has finished recruiting 119 patients for the APRIL Phase 2a clinical trial of the ApTOLL neuroprotective drug for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke.

The aim of this phase of the APRIL trial —a multicentre, randomised, double-blind and placebo-controlled study— is to confirm the safety of ApTOLL and obtain initial data on its effectiveness. The study is conducted at 16 leading hospitals* in the area of neurovascular disease research and assistance throughout Spain, Germany and France.

Patients who are participating in the study are men and women between the ages of 18 and 90, and they are being administered ApTOLL intravenously and combined with mechanical thrombectomy.

“We are grateful for the overwhelming support from the medical community, the clinical research ethics and data monitoring and security committees, the Anagram CRO, and all the patients who have participated. Thanks to all of them, advances are made in the study of a drug that may improve the treatment of acute ischemic stroke and other pathologies. We hope to communicate the results in the last quarter of 2022” states David Segarra, CEO of aptaTargets.

ApTOLL is a novel single-stranded DNA molecule (aptamer) with an immunomodulator and anti-inflammatory effect. The main benefit it offers over other treatments is that its action focuses on blocking the activation of TLR4, a receptor located on the surface of immune cells that is responsible for initiating the inflammatory cascade. By blocking TLR4, ApTOLL modulates the undesired immune response in the first hours after a stroke.

It should be noted that ApTOLL has shown an excellent safety profile in preclinical and clinical studies of Phase 1a with 46 healthy volunteers and Phase 1b with 32 patients, presented at the International Stroke Conference 2022.

12 de Octubre University Hospital, A Coruña University Hospital Complex, Bellvitge University Hospital, Doctor Josep Trueta University Hospital, Essen University Hospital, Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital, Hôpital Fondation Adolphe de Rothschild, La Fe University Hospital, La Princesa University Hospital, Ramón y Cajal University Hospital, Toulouse University Hospital, University Clinical Hospital of Valladolid, University Hospital of Asturias, University Hospital of Lille, Vall d’Hebron Hospital, Virgen del Rocío University Hospital.