Relaxin (Connetics/Celltech).

Abstract

Relaxin, a two-chain peptide from the insulin family that regulates the turnover of connective tissue, is being developed by Connetics and Celltech for the potential treatment of infertility and labor complications. It was also under development by the companies for scleroderma, but development has been discontinued for this indication due to disappointing results in its phase III trial [385058,385485]. In addition, Connetics is conducting preclinical studies to evaluate the potential use of relaxin for the treatment of organ fibrosis and infertility [311269]. Relaxin may also have potential for development in the treatment of other connective tissue diseases. In October 2000, preclinical results assessing the ability of relaxin to selectively induce angiogenesis were published [387968]. The results showed relaxin induced significantly more blood vessel growth at ischemic sites compared to animals treated with vehicle alone and, when administered systemically, it did not cause an increase in VEGF in non-wound cells. The data suggest that relaxin may be useful in the treatment of ischemic conditions [387968]. Connetics presented data at the Wound Healing Society 2000 meeting in Toronto, which suggested that relaxin could be an effective treatment for non-healing ulcers as it improves blood flow to oxygen-deprived tissue. The presented research demonstrated that relaxin stimulated wound healing when administered to animals with impaired blood flow, or a genetic defect rendering them diabetic [370335].