agonist designed to activate endothelial S1P 1 and provide endothelial-protective properties, while limiting S1P 1 desensitization and consequent lymphocyte-count reduction associated with higher doses. The aim was to show whether S1P 1 activation can promote endothelial effects in patients and, if so, select SAR247799 doses for further clinical investigation. Methods: Type-2 diabetes patients, enriched for endothelial dysfunction (flowmediated dilation, FMD <7%; n = 54), were randomized, in 2 sequential cohorts, to 28-day once-daily treatment with SAR247799 (1 or 5 mg in ascending cohorts), placebo or 50 mg sildenafil (positive control) in a 5:2:2 ratio per cohort. Endothelial function was assessed by brachial artery FMD. Renal function, biomarkers and lymphocytes were measured following 5-week SAR247799 treatment (3 doses) to Zucker diabetic fatty rats and the data used to select the doses for human testing. Results: The maximum FMD change from baseline vs placebo for all treatments was reached on day 35; mean differences vs placebo were 0.60% (95% confidence interval [CI] −0.34 to 1.53%; P = .203) for 1 mg SAR247799, 1.07% (95% CI 0.13 to 2.01%; P = .026) for 5 mg SAR247799 and 0.88% (95% CI −0.15 to 1.91%; P = .093) for 50 mg sildenafil. Both doses of SAR247799 were well tolerated, did not affect blood pressure, and were associated with minimal-to-no lymphocyte reduction and small-to-moderate heart rate decrease. The authors confirm that the Principal Investigators for the clinical study were Grit Anderson and Leona Plum-Mörschel and that they had direct clinical responsibility for patients at the Neuss and Mainz sites, respectively. In addition, Grit Andersen was coordinating principal investigator.