Lexipafant (BB-882, Zacutex) is a drug which acts as a potent and selective inhibitor of the

phospholipid Phospholipids, are a class of lipids whose molecule has a hydrophilic "head" containing a phosphate group and two hydrophobic "tails" derived from fatty acids, joined by an alcohol residue (usually a glycerol molecule). Marine phospholipids typ ...

mediator platelet-activating factor (PAF). It was developed in the 1990s by

British Biotech British Biotech was a British-based biotechnology company founded as British Biotechnology Limited in 1986 by former G D Searle managers Keith McCullagh and Brian Richards. It was the first British biotech company to be publicly listed when it ...

with several potential applications, including

HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) are neurological disorders associated with HIV infection and AIDS. It is a syndrome of progressive deterioration of memory, cognition, behavior, and motor function in HIV-infected individuals during t ...

and acute

pancreatitis Pancreatitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the pancreas. The pancreas is a large organ behind the stomach that produces digestive enzymes and a number of hormones. There are two main types: acute pancreatitis, and chronic pancr ...

. Initial results were encouraging and it progressed as far as Phase III clinical trials, but final analysis of trial results showed that it failed to improve survival rates in pancreatitis despite some symptomatic improvement, and it was ultimately discontinued from development as a medicine, though it continues to be used as a model PAF inhibitor for pharmacology research.

References

{{pharm-stub Sulfonamides Ethyl esters Imidazopyridines