NanoCor Therapeutics, Inc. had been a biotechnology company founded to create a viable intracellular genetic protein therapy for the treatment of Chronic Heart Failure (CHF). The company was spun off from Asklêpios BioPharmaceutical, Inc. in November 2005. With a significant financial investment in 2007 from Medronic and iInvolving work undertaken at various academic institutions by several different players, focus was on on the commercial development of a minimal-invasive treatment for CHF. NanoCors therapeutic comprised of the delivery of a proprietary gene developed at the Massachusetts General Hospital and the University of Cincinnati. The gene would be delivered with AskBios proprietary Biological NanoParticle (BNP) and the Self-Complementary Vector technologies, which are derived from human adeno-associated virus vectors (rAAV). With the companys lead therapeutic being Carfostin, NanoCors proprietary BNP delivery technology would allow selective and highly efficient delivery of Carfostin to the heart muscle cells of patients with progressive CHF and result in long-term and safe therapeutic protein expression in the heart, an absolute prerequisite for successful clinical application of a DNA-based therapeutic. It was jduged that Carfostin would not only improve the contractile function of the failing heart muscle, but also achieve additional therapeutic effects by remodeling its structure to counteract the crippling effects of CHF on the heart. NanoCors BNP technology was judgedunique in that it woud allow targeted, minimal-invasive delivery of the therapeutic to the heart. Minimal-invasive delivery provides many advantages over other competing technologies currently under development. Once in the heart, Carfostin would use the heart muscle as a bioreactor to provide sustained protein expression. The firm appears to have discontinued operations some time inthe 2015-2016 time framework.
