COMBINATION TREATMENT WITH t-PA VARIANT AND LOW MOLECULAR WEIGHT HEPARIN

Abstract

The invention concerns an improved therapeutic regimen for the treatment of thrombolytic disorders, such as acute myocardial infarction (AMI). In particular, the present invention concerns the treatment of thrombolytic disorders, e.g., AMI, with a combination of a tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) variant having improved fibrin specificity and extended plasma half-life when compared with wild-type human t-PA and a low molecular weight heparin.

1 . A method of selecting a patient for treatment with a combination of a human tissue plasminogen activator (ht-PA) variant suitable for single bolus administration and low molecular weight heparin, comprising selecting a patient for said treatment if
 (a) the patient has been diagnosed with a thombolytic disorder;   (b) the patient is 75 years of age or younger; and   (c) the patient is not diabetic.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said thrombolytic disorder is myocardial infarction (MI). 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2  further comprising the step of treating said patient with said combination. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3  wherein said ht-PA variant is glycosylated at any of positions 103-105, and devoid of functional carbohydrate structure at position 117 of wild-type ht-PA amino acid sequence, and exhibits a) extended circulatory half-life and fibrin-binding affinity within about two-fold of the wild-type t-PA fibrin binding affinity or improved in vivo fibrinolytic potency, and b) improved fibrin specificity, as compared to wild-tune ht-PA. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4  wherein said ht-PA variant has extended circulatory half-life and fibrin-binding affinity within about two-fold of the wild-type t-PA fibrin binding affinity as compared to wild-type ht-PA. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4  wherein said ht-PA variant has improved in vivo fibrinolytic potency as compared to wild-type ht-PA. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 4  wherein said ht-PA variant is glycosylated at position 103 of the wild-type ht-PA amino acid sequence. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7  wherein said glycosylation is N-linked. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8  wherein said ht-PA variant has asparagine as part of an Asn-X-Ser or Asn-X-Thr tripeptidyl sequence, wherein Asn is asparagine, Ser is serine, Thr is threonine, and X is any amino acid except proline, at position 103 of the wild-type ht-PA amino acid sequence. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9  wherein said t-PA variant has asparagine at position 103, tryptophan at position 104, and serine at position 105 of the wild-type ht-PA amino acid sequence. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 7  wherein said ht-PA variant has an amino acid other than asparagine at position 117 of the wild-type ht-PA amino acid sequence. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 7  wherein said ht-PA variant has an amino acid other than asparagine at position 117 of the wild-type ht-PA amino acid sequence. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10  wherein said ht-PA variant has an amino acid other than asparagine at position 117 of the wild-type ht-PA amino acid sequence. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11  wherein said variant has improved fibrin specificity as compared to wild-type h-tPA. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14  wherein said improved fibrin specificity is achieved by an alteration within the amino acid region 296-302 or 274-277 of the wild-type ht-PA amino sequence. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15  wherein said alteration is in the region 296-299 of the wild-type h-t-PA amino acid sequence. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16  wherein said alteration is the substitution of alanine for each of amino acids lysine, histidine, arginine, arginine at positions 296, 297, 298, and 299 of the wild-type h-tPA amino acid sequence. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 3  wherein said low molecular weight heparin is selected from the group consisting of enoxaparin, dalteparin, tinzaparin, certoparin, parnaparin, nadroparin, ardeparin, and reviparin. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18  wherein said low molecular weight heparin is enoxaparin. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 3  wherein said ht-PA variant is administered intravenously as a single bolus dose. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20  wherein said administration takes place within about 8 hours following the onset of symptoms requiring thrombolytic therapy. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 20  wherein the bolus dose is weight adjusted. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22  wherein said bolus is administered within about 5 seconds. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 23  wherein said t-PA variant is tenecteplase. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24  wherein said bolus dose is about 30 mg for a patient having a bodyweight less than about 60 kg. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 24  wherein said bolus dose is about 35 mg for a patient having a bodyweight of about 60 to 69 kg. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 24  wherein said bolus dose is about 40 mg for a patient having a bodyweight of about 70 to 79 kg. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 24  wherein said bolus dose is about 45 mg for a patient having a bodyweight of about 80 to 89 kg. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 24  wherein said bolus dose is about 50 mg for a patient having a bodyweight of about 90 kg or more. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 20  wherein administration of said low molecular weight heparin takes place before the single bolus administration of said ht-PA variant. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 30  wherein said low molecular weight heparin is administered as an intravenous bolus followed by subcutaneous administration. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 31  wherein said subcutaneous administration is repeated. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 32  wherein said subcutaneous administration is repeated about every 12 hours for a maximum of about 7 days. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 30  wherein said low molecule weight heparin is enoxaparin. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 34  wherein said enoxaparin is administered as an intravenous bolus of about 30 mg immediately followed by a subcutaneous dose of about 1 mg/kg. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 35  wherein said subcutaneous dose is repeated about every 12 hours for a maximum of about 7 days. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 3  wherein said patient is additionally administered aspirin. 
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 3  wherein said patient is monitored for at least 30 days following said administration. 
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 38  wherein said patient does not suffer reinfarction during the period of monitoring. 
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 38  wherein said patient is not diagnosed with refractory ischemia during the period of monitoring. 
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 40  wherein said patient does not suffer intracranial hemorrhage or other major bleeding during the period of monitoring.