Medicure Inc, a cardiovascular drug discovery and development company, has announced the development of an intravenous (I.V.) formulation of the Company's lead drug MC-1 after successful completion of a phase I clinical trial to assess its safety and tolerability in healthy volunteers. This new product presentation, which complements the existing oral dosage form, broadens MC-1's use as a cardio-protective agent in the management of cardiovascular emergencies.

MC-1 has demonstrated cardio-protective properties when given orally to patients undergoing high-risk angioplasty. Medicure's proprietary I.V. formulation will now permit cardiovascular patients to receive MC-1 where oral administration is not viable, or the rapid attainment of the target drug levels in the blood is desirable. Hospitalized patients treated for stroke or acute coronary syndrome (ACS) will benefit most from this product line extension, a release from Medicure said.

"The new I.V. formulation complements our oral form of MC-1, and permits the broadest possible range of alternatives to the physician for initiation and maintenance therapy for cardioprotection in patients experiencing acute cardiovascular events," stated Albert D Friesen, Medicure's president & CEO.

"The positive results of this study support the use of this product in Phase II and phase III clinical studies," Dr. Friesen added. "The I.V. formulation will provide Medicure the opportunity to significantly expand the market potential of MC-1 in treating cardiovascular disease," he concluded.

Medicure Inc is a cardiovascular drug discovery and development Company focused on developing effective therapeutics for unmet needs in the field of cardiovascular medicine.