Phase IIb trials of a medicine designed to prevent heart attacks are to begin in the spring after positive results from phase IIa trials.

Drugmaker DeCode Genetics revealed that it plans to enrol 400 subjects in a new trial designed to collect data on "its pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters, as well as safety and tolerability".

It said the drug works by reducing how much LBT4, a pro-inflammatory molecule, is produced in the body and has also delivered "significant dose-dependent reductions" when used to treat patients who have previously had heart attacks or coronary heart disease.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 11.8 million people died as a result of heart disease or heart attack in 2005, with the number of those expected to suffer from the conditions expected to rise in the years to come.

The WHO says that there is an urgent need to tackle the problem, describing it as a "burgeoning epidemic".

Masters is a global healthcare solutions provider which has many years of experience in sourcing drugs still under clinical investigation for medical professionals who are treating patients who have an unmet need.