ZyVersa Therapeutics, Inc. announced that the European Patent Office granted a patent covering the company’s Phase 2a-ready Cholesterol Efflux Mediator™ VAR 200 (2-hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin) for use in diabetic nephropathy/diabetic kidney disease (Patent Number EP 2 836 221). VAR 200 was developed in the labs of Dr. Alessia Fornoni, Katz Professor of Medicine, Chief, Katz Family Division of Nephrology & Hypertension, and Director of Peggy & Harold Katz Drug Discovery Center at the University of Miami. ZyVersa was granted an exclusive, worldwide, license for the development and commercialization of VAR 200 by L&F Research LLC, which was founded by Dr. Fornoni and others to obtain the intellectual property that had been released to the Inventors by the University of Miami.

Cholesterol Efflux Mediator™ VAR 200 (2-hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin, 2HPßCD) is a phase 2a-ready drug in development to ameliorate renal lipid accumulation that damages the kidneys’ filtration system, leading to kidney disease progression. VAR 200 passively and actively removes excess lipids from the kidney. Preclinical studies with VAR 200 in animal models of FSGS, Alport syndrome, and diabetic kidney disease demonstrate that removal of excess cholesterol and lipids from kidney podocytes protects against structural damage and reduces excretion of protein in the urine (proteinuria).

The lead indication for VAR 200 is orphan kidney disease focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). VAR 200 has potential to treat other glomerular diseases, including orphan Alport syndrome and diabetic kidney disease.