Remodeless CV
When blood flow is restored after a heart attack or stroke, the treatment that saves a patient's life can also cause further tissue damage. Remodeless CV is developing a novel therapy to protect vital organs from this reperfusion injury.
01The Problem
Acute myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke both require urgent restoration of blood flow (reperfusion) to keep tissue alive. But reperfusion itself triggers a second wave of injury — driven by locally produced leptin, which fuels inflammation and microvascular thrombosis. Despite decades of research, no FDA-approved therapy exists to prevent it.
02Market Opportunity
Heart failure is one of the costliest chronic conditions in U.S. healthcare, and it is frequently a downstream consequence of the acute cardiac events LepA is designed to protect against. Reducing reperfusion injury at the moment of revascularization has the potential to reduce the population that goes on to develop it.
Figures reflect 2025 U.S. market estimates for heart failure and myocardial infarction compiled from third-party healthcare-economics research, provided for illustrative context.
03The Science
Ischemia induces local leptin production. That leptin binds local receptors to form an active complex that drives reactive oxygen species, inflammation, and microvascular thrombosis — compounding tissue damage. LepA is a super-active leptin-antagonist mutant, administered selectively intra-arterially to the affected organ, that competes with native leptin and blocks this cascade.
Arterial occlusion cuts off oxygen supply, and local leptin production rises.
Leptin binds local receptors, driving oxidative stress, inflammation, and clotting.
LepA competes with native leptin, forming an inactive complex and blocking the damage cascade.
Supports cell survival in tissue under acute stress.
Reduces the inflammatory response that compounds tissue injury.
Limits microvascular thrombosis at the site of injury.
Modulates the local immune response during reperfusion.
04Applications
The same leptin-driven cascade that damages heart and brain tissue after an acute ischemic event may also underlie the chronic neuroinflammation seen after repeated head impacts — a pathway increasingly implicated in CTE and accelerated cognitive decline among contact-sport athletes.
RCV's primary clinical focus. After a heart attack or stroke, restoring blood flow triggers a single, intense reperfusion injury — the target of RCV's lead clinical program.
An emerging area of exploration. Repeated subconcussive impacts — common in football, soccer, and other contact sports — may drive cumulative, leptin-mediated neuroinflammation linked to CTE and Alzheimer's-like cognitive decline. RCV is evaluating LepA's relevance to this chronic injury pattern.
The repetitive head trauma application is exploratory, is supported only by RCV's preclinical brain ischemia-reperfusion data, and has not been evaluated in human clinical studies.
05Evidence
RCV has demonstrated the efficacy of its therapeutic approach in preclinical ischemia-reperfusion models of the brain, kidney, and heart — preserving tissue viability and organ function.
Preclinical IR models show preserved tissue viability following LepA administration.
Demonstrated protection of organ function in renal ischemia-reperfusion models.
In a porcine IR model, LepA diminished infarct size and helped prevent left ventricular functional damage — reducing the likelihood of downstream heart failure.
Our primary clinical focus is LepA therapy for patients with acute myocardial infarction undergoing emergent coronary revascularization. Results described are from preclinical animal studies; LepA is an investigational therapy and has not been approved for clinical use.
06IP & Regulatory Path
RCV holds granted patents in the US and Europe covering LepA and its methods of therapy for ischemia-reperfusion injury. The FDA has reviewed RCV's experimental data and granted approval to proceed with toxicology and safety studies — the next step on the path to clinical development.
US and European patents granted on LepA and its therapeutic methods.
Experimental data reviewed by the FDA, with approval to proceed to toxicology and safety studies.
Toxicology and safety studies precede FDA IND submission and Phase I clinical development.
07Leadership
Chief Executive Officer
Professor of Surgery at Tel Aviv University and a cardiovascular surgeon-scientist. Past Director of the Department of Vascular Surgery at Sheba Medical Center, Israel. Visiting Professor at Harvard Medical School and the University of Pennsylvania.
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Get In TouchGet In Touch
Whether you're an investor, a strategic partner, or a researcher in the field — we'd like to hear from you.
n@impactechgroup.com