ZEPHYR

 

The ZEPHYR trial is an academically led trial, conceived and headed by Prof. Lorenz Räber, interventional cardiologists at Bern University Hospital (Bern, Switzerland), in the role as coordinating principal investigator. The trial offers a unique opportunity for renowned European investigators to investigate changes in atherosclerotic plaques in patients treated with a novel anti-inflammatory drug, still under development.

In this trial, the investigators will pursue an ambitious progression-regression serial imaging trial, relying on advanced coronary imaging technologies. The investigators will have significant opportunities to guide the successful execution of the trial and engage in future research to be co-led with the site principal investigators, the steering committee, and the co-sponsors.

ZEPHYR will enroll approximately 332 patients in up to 20 interventional cardiology centers in Europe. 

The European Cardiovascular Research Institute (ECRI, Rotterdam, The Netherlands) and Novo Nordisk (Bagsværd, Denmark) are acting as trial co-sponsors, providing financial-, logistic- and operational support, further supported by leading cardiovascular research organizations such as Cardialysis (Rotterdam, The Netherlands) and the Insel Gruppe AG (Bern, Switzerland).

The ZEPHYR trial, subsequently as a co-sponsorship, is a novel setup uniquely suited to enable academic researchers to engage even earlier in the development of new therapies and provide novel insights for the benefit of patients, healthcare systems, and the drug development process.