Liposomal alendronate for the treatment of restenosis.

The current treatment for coronary restenosis following balloon angioplasty involves the use of a mechanical or drug eluting stent (DES). The advent of DES systems has effectively allayed much of the challenge of restenosis that has plagued the success of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI). However, there are certain limitations to DES use, among which is late stent thrombosis. Innate immunity and inflammation are of major importance in the overreaction of the wound healing response to PCI-induced vascular injury, which leads to restenosis. Liposomes containing alendronate have been shown to deplete circulating monocytes and reduce experimental restenosis. This review presents a unique systemic approach for treating restenosis with alendronate liposomal nano-carriers and reports on its formulation development, formulation variables affecting monocyte/macrophage targeting, pharmacokinetics (PK) and biodistribution, in vitro and in vivo anti-inflammatory effect, and the recent results of the phase II clinical trial.