Results of the first clinical study of adjunctive CAldaret (MCC-135) in patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention for ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction: the randomized multicentre CASTEMI study.

AIMS: To examine the safety and efficacy of intravenous caldaret in patients with large acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS AND RESULTS: STEMI patients (n=387) with > or =10 mm summed ST-deviation on electrocardiogram were randomized to receive a 48 h infusion of caldaret 57.5 mg [lower dose (LD)], caldaret 172.5 mg [higher dose (HD)], or placebo, starting before PCI. Both HD and LD were well tolerated. In 247 patients with pre-PCI TIMI 0/1, there was no effect of HD or LD on single photon emission computed tomography infarct size or ejection fraction assessed at Day 7 and Day 30. Subgroup analyses suggest that future work in patients with anterior MI might be warranted. CONCLUSION: This first human experience with caldaret prior to direct PCI for large STEMI shows a good safety profile. No evidence of efficacy was discerned. Subgroup analyses in anterior MI patients showed some effects in endpoints studied, however, these findings require confirmation in a further study if a drug effect is to be established.

Duke Scholars

Author Mitchell Wolfe Krucoff Medicine, Cardiology