R&D;

Acasti Pharma's research and development program is guided using the expertise of renowned scientists using a Scientific Advisory Board which members are:

• Steven E. Nissen, MD, MACC
  • Chairman, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine
  • Cleveland Clinic Foundation
  • Cleveland, Ohio, USA
  • Immediate Past-President of the American College of Cardiology
• Ruth McPherson, MD, PhD, FRCPC
  • Professor, Department of Medicine
  • Merck Frosst Canada Chair in Atherosclerosis Research
  • Director, Lipid Clinic & Atherogenomics Laboratory
  • University of Ottawa Heart Institute
  • Ottawa, ON, Canada
• William S. Harris, PhD
  • President & CEO, OmegaQuant, LLC
  • Professor, Cardiovascular Health Research Center
  • Sanford Research/USD and Sanford School of Medicine
  • Sioux Falls, SD, USA
• Magdy M. Abdel-Malik, PhD
  • President, Quaestio Global Partners LLC
  • Chester, NJ, USA
  • Former Director, Global External Opportunities, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, NJ
• Thomas G. Hartman, PhD
  • Manager, Mass Spectrometry Facility
  • Associate Member, Food Science Graduate Faculty
  • Center for Advanced Food Technology
  • Rutgers University
  • New Brunswick, NJ, USA
• Jacques Genest MD, CM; FRCP(C); FACC; FAHA
  • Professor of Medicine and Head of Cardiology at McGill University Health Centre

A product portfolio of proprietary novel long-chain omega-3 phospholipids are sourced from sustainable abundant marine biomass including Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba). Phospholipids are the major component of cell membranes and essential for all vital cell processes. They are one of the principle constituents of High Density Lipoprotein (good cholesterol) and play, as such, an important role in modulating cholesterol efflux1.

Acasti Pharma's proprietary novel phospholipids carry and functionalize EPA and DHA stabilized by potent antioxidants. EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) are the only bioactivepolyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids. Evidence has demonstrated the anti-inflammatory properties of EPA and DHA regulating very important biological functions including degenerative, arthritic, circulatory, digestive, and brain diseases.

Delivering omega-3s functionalized on phospholipids helps optimize the omega-3 fatty acid therapeutic benefits. Potent antioxidants contribute to proper physiological regulation preventing free radical cellular damage, a common pathway for cardiovascular disease and inflammation as well as neurodegenerative disease.

The role of phospholipids in cholesterol efflux

Acasti Pharma develops highly concentrated phospholipids (principle constituents of HDL-C) which carry and functionalize EPA and DHA stabilized by potent antioxidant esters and which are customized to respond to the physiological pathway of HDL-C production and cholesterol efflux. Evidence has shown by a meta-analysis that an increase in HDL-C of 0.026 mmol/L equates with a 2% relative risk reduction in the incidence of coronary events in men and 3% in women.

Recent studies indicated that the prime component of HDL modulating cholesterol efflux was HDL-phospholipids and not necessarily apolipoprotein apoA-1. The reduced efficiency in cholesterol efflux in rats expressing high concentrations of human apoA-I has been shown to be due to a marked decrease in the HDL-Phospholipid:apoA-I ratio in the serum.

• 1 Cholestrol efflux describes the efflux of cholesterol from cells in order to be transported back to
  the liver for elimination.