Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the US and other developed nations costing the American health care system an estimated $448.5 billion in 2008. According to the American Heart Association's Heart Disease & Stroke Statistics 2010 publication, approximately every 25 seconds an American will have a coronary event and approximately every minute, someone will die from such an event. A key underlying cause of cardiovascular disease is atherosclerosis, a build-up of plaque in the arteries often referred to as 'hardening of the arteries'.

Apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I), the main component of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), represents the body's natural defense system against atherosclerosis by mediating reverse cholesterol transport, i.e. transport of peripheral cholesterol including that within the atherosclerotic plaques of the vessel wall to the liver for processing. In multiple human and animal studies over-expression or repeated infusion of ApoA-I inhibits progression and induces regression of atherosclerosis in animals and humans. Developing small molecules that increase ApoA-I would satisfy a vast unmet medical need.

SOURCE Resverlogix Corp.