Epicatechin
A natural compound, (+)-epicatechin is a rare flavonoid that mimics a human hormone and was shown to improve mitochondrial function in different models of cardiac disease and neuromuscular disease.
INACTIVE: Stages of Development for Epicatechin
The drug development process can be thought of as a series of stages, and drugs must successfully pass through each stage to become available to patients. This treatment has been evaluated, and the program has been discontinued. Thus, it is not in the pipeline.
Safety and tolerability of (+)-epicatechin was demonstrated in healthy volunteers and individuals with neuromuscular disease (Becker Muscular Dystrophy)
2016-2017:Cardero and investigators at the Mayo Clinic ran a pilot study in 10 individuals with Friedreich ataxia. This was an open-label study for 24-weeks to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of synthetically produced (+) Epicatechin in treating patients who have FA. Study results included that epicatechin was well tolerated over 24 weeks at up to 150 mg/d, some improvement was observed in cardiac structure and function in subset of subjects, and no improvement in neurological function.