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DiaMedica Therapeutics Announces Key Opinion Leader Webinar on DM199 (Rinvecalinase Alfa) for the Treatment of Preeclampsia

via Business Wire
  • Company to Host Preeclampsia Key Opinion Leader Event May 28, 2025 at 8 AM Eastern / 7 AM Central

DiaMedica Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: DMAC), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing a novel treatment for preeclampsia, announced today that it will host a virtual key opinion leader (KOL) event on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, at 8:00 AM ET to provide further insight into the current treatment landscape of preeclampsia and the clinical trial design and endpoints of the DM199 Phase 2 preeclampsia study.

The webinar will feature Prof. Stephen Tong, MD, PhD (The University of Melbourne), Prof. Susan Walker, MD, PhD (The University of Melbourne), and Prof. Baha Sibai, MD (University of Texas) who will discuss the unmet need and current treatment landscape for preeclampsia (PE), a life-threatening pregnancy associated vascular disorder with no approved therapeutics. This will be followed by the Phase 2, proof-of-concept, clinical trial design and endpoints of DM199 in PE. DM199, through enhancing the body’s natural ability to produce nitric oxide, prostacyclin and endothelium-derived hyper polarizing factor, has the potential to lower blood pressure, enhance endothelial health and improve perfusion to maternal organs and the placenta.

A live question and answer session will follow the formal presentations.

To register, click here.

About Professor Baha Sibai

Dr. Baha M. Sibai is a globally recognized expert in Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at McGovern Medical School, UTHealth Houston. He directs the nation’s largest Maternal-Fetal Medicine fellowship program and maintains active clinical practices at Memorial Hermann–Texas Medical Center and Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital. Renowned for his groundbreaking work in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, Dr. Sibai has authored over 750 peer-reviewed articles and numerous textbook chapters. He developed key diagnostic criteria for hypertensive conditions, including HELLP syndrome, and pioneered protocols for managing severe preeclampsia.

Dr. Sibai has received major honors, including the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s Lifetime Achievement Award and ACOG’s 2018 Hall of Fame All-Star status. He is a founding member and past president of both the North American and International Societies for the Study of Hypertension in Pregnancy, and a long-standing contributor to the NIH-funded MFM Units Network. With decades of NIH and CDC grant support, he has led numerous multicenter clinical trials. From 1995 to 2013, he served as an examiner for the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Sibai remains a leading voice in advancing maternal care, particularly in complex and high-risk pregnancies.

About Professor Stephen Tong

Professor Stephen Tong is listed in Expertscape as one of the top 10 preeclamptic experts in the world. He is a key opinion leader in preeclampsia, having penned invited reviews or commentaries about the disease in the world’s most prestigious scientific journals.

Dr Tong is jointly trained as an OB (Mercy Hospital for Women) and laboratory scientist (Professorial Fellow, University of Melbourne). Dr. Tong has a strong interest in translational research - developing therapeutics to tackle major pregnancy complications and has had a lead role in taking four therapeutic concepts identified in his laboratory to phase I-III clinical trials run across the globe – UK, New Zealand, South Africa, the Netherlands and Sweden.

Dr. Tong has authored 250 papers, 100+ on preeclampsia, and published original research as the first or senior author in the world’s premier journals – Nature, The Lancet, British Medical Journal, Nature Communications, JAMA Pediatrics, JAMA Psychiatry and others. Dr. Tong is chair of the advisory board of the Robinson Research Institute in Adelaide, Australia; Co-Director of Mercy Perinatal; Research Director at Mercy Hospital for Women; awarded three prestigious National Health and Medical Research Council national awards for his research and has received over $10 million in competitive grant funding.

About Professor Susan Walker

Professor Sue Walker is the inaugural Sheila Handbury Chair of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Head of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Newborn Health at University of Melbourne and Divisional Chair, Perinatal Medicine at Mercy Hospital for Women (Mercy). Dr. Walker’s research program positions her as an international leader in the areas of Fetal Growth Restriction (ranked 17th globally in Expertscape) and on the 99th centile in the field of preeclampsia (SciVal Benchmarking). Among Dr. Walker’s 240+ publications are contributions in the leading biomedical journals - Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine, British Medical Journal and others.

Dr. Walker is a Maternal Fetal Medicine sub-specialist, tasked with providing care for some of the highest risk pregnancies. Her research program is focused on improving detection and treatment of two leading complications in pregnancy responsible for countless maternal and infant deaths: preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction. In recognition of Dr. Walker’s roles in clinical care, research, professional leadership and education, Dr. Walker was made an Officer, Order of Australia in 2018, a Fellow of the Academy of Health and Medical Science in 2023 and awarded the Women’s Healthcare Australasia Medal of Distinction in 2023.

About Preeclampsia

Preeclampsia is a serious pregnancy disorder that typically develops after the 20th week of gestation, characterized by high blood pressure and damage to organ systems, often the kidneys and liver. Affecting up to 8% of pregnancies worldwide, preeclampsia can pose significant risks to both the mother and baby, including risk of stroke, placental abruption, progression to eclampsia, premature delivery, and death. Symptoms may include severe headaches, vision changes, upper abdominal pain and swelling in the hands and face. Delivery of the baby, often very prematurely, is the only available option for stopping the progression of preeclampsia. Women who have had preeclampsia have three to four times the risk of high blood pressure and double the risk for heart disease and stroke.

About DM199 (rinvecalinase alfa)

DM199 (rinvecalinase alfa) is a recombinant form of human tissue kallikrein-1 (rhKLK1) in clinical development for acute ischemic stroke and preeclampsia. KLK1 is a serine protease enzyme that plays an important role in the regulation of diverse physiological processes via a molecular mechanism that increases production of nitric oxide, prostacyclin and endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor. In preeclampsia, DM199 is intended to lower blood pressure, enhance endothelial health and improve perfusion to maternal organs and the placenta.

About DiaMedica Therapeutics Inc.

DiaMedica Therapeutics Inc. is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company committed to improving the lives of people suffering from serious ischemic diseases with a focus on acute ischemic stroke and preeclampsia. DiaMedica’s lead candidate DM199 is the first pharmaceutically active recombinant (synthetic) form of the KLK1 protein, an established therapeutic modality in Asia for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke, preeclampsia and other vascular diseases. For more information visit the Company’s website at www.diamedica.com.

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