Industry Biotechnology Founded 2004 | Website [1] Type of business Private | |
Headquarters Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States | ||
Thrombolytic Science International (TSI) is a private biopharmaceutical company beginning Phase I clinical trials of TS01, a new-generation therapy to treat acute strokes and heart attacks.
Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) has remained the only clot-dissolving, thrombolytic drug available for clinical use in patients with ischemic stroke since its approval in 1996. Only about 5% of stroke patients are treated with tPA because of its short treatment time-window, suboptimal efficacy, and risk of intra-cranial hemorrhage.
TS01 is a clot-dissolving treatment consisting of a mutated form of the first-generation thrombolytic, pro-urokinase (pro-UK) preceded by a bolus of plasma complement 1 esterase inhibitor (C1-inhibitor).
TS01 targets only the occlusive (bad) clots that lead to stroke, a fact which the company expects will significantly reduce the risk of bleeding. Like its parent molecule pro-UK, TS01 is also expected to show a longer treatment time-window than tPA. These attributes will allow many more patients to be treated with this potentially life-saving treatment.