Swedish mitochondrial drugmaker NeuroVive said Tuesday it is extending its collaboration with French hospital Hospices Civils de Lyon (HCL), which broadens the scope of NeuroVive’s cardiovascular business and will help maintain its leading position in mitochondrial medicine.

The new pact, designated OPeRA (Organ Protection & Replacement Institute), includes pre-clinical research and development programs as well as clinical phase II programs, giving NeuroVive access to medical technology and patient groups for the evaluation of its drug candidates, the company said.

NeuroVive began its collaboration, and the European Phase III study of its heart attack drug CicloMulsion, with HCL in 2011.

The OPeRA program has received financial backing from the French government and from several companies, including NeuroVive, through 2018. The program incorporates different medical areas and is based on programs in diabetes, metabolic disorders, transplantation, cardiovascular diseases, inflammatory conditions and infectious diseases, NeuroVive said.

By partnering with the OPeRA program, NeuroVive can study its cyclophilin inhibitors, such as CicloMulsion, and new drug candidates in various animal models for efficacy against cardiovascular diseases before testing them in humans, the company noted.

The OPeRA program partnership not only gives NeuroVive the rights to the projects directly covered by the collaboration with HCL, but also provides the company access to research findings across all areas of the program, which could lead to commercial development, it said. — Kellen Owings

Subscribe to Drug Industry Daily for complete coverage of the pharmaceutical industry. Click here for more information.