• First comprehensive systematic review provides insights into the long-term safety profile of angiogenic approaches in coronary artery disease
• Data shows no evidence of increased cancer or retinopathy, resolving long-standing safety questions that have limited progress across the field
• Study supports approaches such as Isomab's ISM-001 that takes a novel approach to restoring blood vessel growth and blood supply by removing a pathological brake on angiogenesis

NOTTINGHAM, England, Sept. 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Safety evidence announced by biopharmaceutical company Isomab Ltd has reinforced the potential of a new class of therapies designed to promote blood vessel growth as a disease-modifying approach for coronary artery disease. A systematic review of clinical trial data evaluating growth factor approaches, spanning more than two decades, found no evidence of the hypothesized safety concerns associated with directly stimulating blood vessel growth, removing a major barrier that has constrained the field.

Isomab is set to advance its lead candidate ISM-001 towards first-in-human trials in patients with chronic angina who are refractory to treatment. Unlike growth factor approaches that directly stimulate blood vessel growth, ISM-001 takes a fundamentally different, first-in-class approach: a novel antibody therapeutic designed to selectively target VEGF-A165b, an inhibitor of angiogenesis.

The systematic review analysed 11 clinical studies between 2002 and 2024 across 636 patients with angina or peripheral artery disease (n=441 proangiogenic therapy, n=195 placebo), with follow-up periods ranging from two to 12 years. Mean malignancy incidence was similar for pro-angiogenic interventions and placebo (0.84 vs 0.72 per 100 patient-years) and was below the age-matched population rate (1.0 per 100 patient-years). Retinal events were rare in both groups and likewise below the age-matched population rate.

"These findings resolve safety questions that have clouded the perception of an entire class of treatments and give us a strong foundation as we advance ISM-001 towards first-in-human studies. Rather than forcing blood vessel growth, ISM-001 takes a fundamentally different approach by removing the overactive brake on this natural process caused by cardiovascular disease," said Professor David Bates, Isomab Chief Scientific Officer and study author.

Dr Philip Brainin, Isomab CEO, added: "Given the scale and continuing burden of coronary artery disease, the opportunity to change the course of the disease is enormous. With ISM-001 we are looking to introduce a new treatment paradigm – rebalancing VEGF-A signaling to unlock the heart's own capacity to heal itself."

Contact: Jo Shorthouse, 59 North Communications, jo.shorthouse@59north.bio

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SOURCE Isomab