HUYA Bioscience International (HUYA), an emerging biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of key disease-fighting drugs sourced from China, announced on October 2 that it had licensed a novel clinical stage anti-arrhythmic compound from the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica (SIMM), Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The compound, HBI-3000 or sulcardine, exhibits a unique profile of myocardial ion channel regulation, compared to approved US and European anti- arrhythmic therapeutics. HBI-3000 has met significant Phase I safety milestones in three completed studies under a SIMM-sponsored Chinese IND.

Gary T. Elliott, Pharm.D., Ph.D., Executive Vice President of Product Development at HUYA, commented that "the compound displays an ion channel selectivity profile that may contribute to effective treatment of both ventricular and atrial arrhythmias, while decreasing the risk of sudden death (Torsade de Pointes) associated with some anti-arrhythmics currently on the market."

Mireille Gingras, Ph.D., CEO of HUYA said, "There is a large unmet medical need for safer and more effective treatments for atrial and ventricular arrhythmia. We believe that HBI-3000 has the potential to fill this need, based on its unique properties and significant performance to date. By 2015, the global anti-arrhythmic market is expected to be $3.5 billion, and we feel we are on target to provide an innovative product."