Addressing a Critical Unmet Need:
Acute Kidney Injury (AKI)
Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) is a life-threatening complication that affects approximately 30% of cardiac surgery patients. This condition significantly prolongs ICU stays and increases the risk of progression to chronic kidney disease, creating a substantial burden on both patients and healthcare systems. Despite its prevalence and severity, there are currently no approved therapies to prevent or treat AKI, highlighting an urgent need for innovative and effective solutions.
Addressing a Critical Unmet Need:
Acute Kidney Injury (AKI)
Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) is a life-threatening complication that affects approximately 30% of cardiac surgery patients. This condition significantly prolongs ICU stays and increases the risk of progression to chronic kidney disease, creating a substantial burden on both patients and healthcare systems. Despite its prevalence and severity, there are currently no approved therapies to prevent or treat AKI, highlighting an urgent need for innovative and effective solutions.
Our Approach
Targeting ENT1 to Protect Renal Function
At the core of our strategy is the Equilibrative Nucleoside Transporter 1 (ENT1), a key protein that facilitates the cellular uptake of adenosine. During cardiac surgery, ischemia caused by restricted blood flow, triggers an increase in adenosine production. However, rapid cellular uptake via ENT1 reduces the availability of adenosine to activate its protective receptors. By selectively inhibiting ENT1, adenosine uptake into cells is blocked, preserving elevated extracellular adenosine levels. This allows adenosine to activate its receptors, reducing metabolic stress and mitigating ischemia/reperfusion injury, a major driver of AKI.
RAP-0001: A First-in-Class Clinical Candidate
RAP-0001 is a highly potent and selective ENT1 inhibitor with demonstrated preclinical efficacy in preventing ischemia/reperfusion injury. By targeting ENT1, RAP-0001 mitigates renal damage during periods of ischemic stress, offering a novel therapeutic approach for patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Beyond its immediate application in cardiac surgery-associated AKI, RAP-0001 has potential in other clinical settings where ischemic/reperfusion injury plays a significant role, further expanding its therapeutic impact.
