NHLBI Vascular Interventions/Innovations & Therapeutic Advances (VITA) Program Awards Dr. Michael Conte Medical/Drug Device Grant
The NHLBI Vascular Interventions/Innovations and Therapeutic Advances (VITA) Program has awarded Michael S. Conte, M.D., Professor & Chief of the Division of Vascular & Endovascular Surgery, a translational research grant to study the problem of vascular injury and develop prototype medical drugs and devices that effectively prevent restenosis, reduce vascular scarring, and improve vascular surgical outcomes. The grant is a collaboration between the Conte Lab and Tejal Desai, Ph.D., Director of the Therapeutic Microtechnology And Nanotechnology Laboratory and Chair of Bioengineering at UCSF.
VITA Project Objective: Innovative drug/device combination for prevention of restenosis
The problem of vascular injury is pervasive throughout cardio-vascular surgical procedures, including vascular access, angioplasty, stenting and bypass surgery. Failure due to restenosis and vascular scarring is a continuing complication of most vascular interventions, creating an unmet medical need. Despite advances in drug-eluting devices, most restenosis-blocking agents are cytotoxic compounds that retard rather than promote vessel wall healing. Recent studies suggest that specialized bioactive lipid mediators govern the resolution of inflammation, and have beneficial activity in vascular tissues. The goal of this VITA Program contract is to develop prototype medical drug/devices that effectively prevent restenosis, reduce vascular scarring, and improve vascular surgical outcomes.
The Vascular Interventions/Innovations and Therapeutic Advances (VITA) Program is a new translational initiative of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) that enables and accelerates the development of promising diagnostic and therapeutic modalities for unmet and underserved medical needs. The VITA Program provides contract support for early-stage translational development of product candidates in the fields of vascular disorders, thrombotic diseases, and pulmonary hypertension.