Guard Therapeutics announced that the first patient in the US has been dosed with study drug in the ongoing global Phase 2 clinical trial AKITA. The main study objective is to evaluate the kidney-protective effect of RMC-035 in patients who are at increased risk of developing acute kidney injury in connection with open heart surgery. RMC-035, which represents a completely new class of drugs (first-in-class), can protect cells and their mitochondria against injury caused by oxygen deficiency and elevated levels of the oxygen- binding and toxic protein heme.

RMC-035 is currently being evaluated in the AKITA study for the prevention of acute kidney injury in open heart surgery and in a Phase 1b study in kidney transplantation. The dosing of the first patient in the US in the AKITA study took place at Indiana Ohio Heart, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis. Patient recruitment is already ongoing in several European countries and in Canada and continues according to plan.