UDP-003 is a cyclodextrin dimer designed to remove 7-ketocholesterol (7KC) from cells as an approach to preventing and treating atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and other diseases of aging. 7KC is an oxidized form of cholesterol serves no useful purpose in the human body and is toxic to cells. In ASCVD, 7KC is formed through the nonenzymatic oxidation of cholesterol in LDL particles and within the atherosclerotic plaque, and recruit macrophages to engulf them. 7KC is toxic to macrophages, leading to their loss of autophagy and become dysfunctional foam cells, immobilized in the artery wall. Such macrophages also lose the ability to engulf and clear other damaged macrophages (efferocytosis), leading to a vicious cycle.
In addition to ASCVD, 7KC is implicated in multiple other diseases of aging and orphan diseases, including age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), Alzheimer’s disease, sickle cell anemia, and multiple sclerosis (MS).
Cyclarity uses computational and synthetic chemistry to develop modified cyclodextrins that remove 7-ketocholesterol from macrophages/foam cells and other cells in our body, thus potentially restoring cell function and preventing or reversing diseases driven by 7KC. Cyclodestrins are a class of cyclic carbohydrate molecules that are highly safe and widely used in food, cosmetics, and drug delivery well-known and safe molecule.
In January 2025, Cyclarity announced that they had secured regulatory approval to begin its first-in-human clinical trial of UDP-003. The trial will be conducted in Australia, led by prominent cardiologist Dr. Stephen Nicholls of the Victorian Heart Institute (VHI) in partnership with Monash University. In addition to a pharmacokinetic Phase I trial, they are authorized to perform a safety trial in 12 volunteers with Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) and gather preliminary evidence of efficacy.
Later that month, Cyclarity closed the first tranche of its Series A funding round, led by Ki Tua Fund LP and Starbloom Primrose LP, which enabled it to commence clinical trials.
