Nitric Oxide Neutralizers

Nitric oxide (NO), is a simple gaseous free radical that plays a dual role in human health and disease. In small amounts, NO is an essential physiological regulator, playing important roles in blood pressure regulation, memory, and host defense. On the other hand, NO overproduction, which is a feature common to many medical problems and disorders, causes molecular damage that leads to disease-causing cellular dysfunction.

To address this dual role, Medinox is developing its proprietary NO neutralizers, a unique pharmaceutical technology that removes the excess pathology-causing NO while preserving the basal beneficial levels of NO. Our small-molecule NO neutralizers bind nitric oxide very tightly and with great specificity. The bound NO is thus inactivated and prevented from participating in pathology-causing reactions. Both injectable and orally-active NO neutralizers are under development. Targeted diseases and disorders include sepsis, ARDS and diabetes, among many others. Medinox's most advanced product, the injectable NO neutralizer NOX-100, which was shown to have an excellent safety profile in a recent human study. NOX-100 is now being evaluated in a multicenter Phase I/IIa septic shock study.