SBIR-STTR Award

NanO2 as a Cerebroprotectant in a tMCAO Stroke Model in Mice
Award last edited on: 10/27/2024

Sponsored Program
STTR
Awarding Agency
NIH : NINDS
Total Award Amount
$478,050
Award Phase
1
Solicitation Topic Code
853
Principal Investigator
Evan Charles Unger

Company Information

NuvOx Pharma LLC

1635 East 18th Street
Tucson, AZ 85719
   (520) 624-6688
   inquiry@nuvoxpharma.com
   www.nuvoxpharma.com

Research Institution

University of Arizona

Phase I

Contract Number: 1R41NS124450-01
Start Date: 9/15/2021    Completed: 8/31/2022
Phase I year
2021
Phase I Amount
$478,050
Stroke affects more than 795, 000 patients per year in the US, kills approximately 140, 000 and is the single largestcause of expense for long-term medical care in the US. About 87% of strokes are ischemic, 40% of which are largevessel occlusions (LVO). Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) can be treated by restoring blood flow, e.g. by using the clot-busting drug t-PA for eligible patients. Recently, mechanical thrombectomy (MT) has emerged as standard of carefor LVO stroke. As MT is a specialized procedure, up to 60% of thrombectomy patients are first evaluated at spokehospitals and then transferred to a hub hospital for MT. The duration of time for patient transfer from the spoke tothe hub is variable and may be in excess of several hours. Reperfusion with tPA also takes time, usually severalhours for adequate blood flow to be obtained. A safe drug which maintained oxygenation within the at-risk regionin AIS could preserve the tissue until reperfusion is attained, thereby increasing the utility of reperfusion therapy.NuvOx Pharma is developing a novel oxygen therapeutic, NanO2TM (2% w/vol dodecafluoropentane emulsion). Inmultiple animal studies in stroke, NanO2 maintained the tissue viability in the penumbra and reduced the volumeof infarct by 85%. In a Phase Ib/II trial in AIS patients, NanO2 was safe at all dose levels (0.05, 0.10 & 0.17 mL/kg)administered 3 times 90 minutes apart and was shown to be efficacious. The high dose cohort had a significantimprovement compared to placebo in the functional end-point of the modified Rankin scale at 30 and 90 days (P =0.01 and P=0.03, respectively). NuvOx has an active IND for a Phase II trial called the PROVEN trial (Phase II toRestore Oxygen in LVO patients En Route for MT using NanO2). We hypothesize that early administration of NanO2to AIS patients will maintain viability of tissue in the penumbra until reperfusion can be attained.The NINDS has developed the Stroke Preclinical Assessment Network (SPAN) program to find neuroprotectiveagents to bring to the clinic. To make the NanO2 program competitive with these neuroprotectants in an applicationto NIH StrokeNet in the future, NuvOx must ensure the scientific rigor and reproducibility of our preclinical studiesmatch the standard of SPAN. Our preclinical data is promising, but lacks the inclusion of aged animals, othercomorbidities for stroke and long-term functional outcome measurements. In this Phase I STTR grantapplication, we propose to conduct studies of NanO2 in a transient middle cerebral artery occlusion(tMCAO) mouse model using the intraluminal filament technique. The study will be conducted in two phases, first in healthy mice to establish the model with less confounding variables followed by a second phase in agedmice and mice with comorbidities. Successful completion of the Aims of this study will fulfill the NIH's requirementfor rigor and reproducibility so that NanO2 can be considered as a candidate for clinical trials in StrokeNet andother organizations supported by NIH. PROJECT NARRATIVE Stroke affects more than 795, 000 Americans each year, kills approximately 140, 000 and costs the US $34B per year. NanO2TM is a novel oxygen therapeutic that has been shown preclinically to decrease acute ischemic stroke damage by about 85%, but this data lacks the inclusion of aged animals, other comorbidities for stroke and long-term functional outcome measurements. The proposed preclinical study using a transient middle cerebral artery occlusion mouse model will address the gaps in the preclinical data for NanO2 so that the drug can be further advanced clinically and be more competitive as a candidate for organizations supported by the NIH, such as the StrokeNet. Adult ; 21+ years old ; Adult Human ; adulthood ; Affect ; Age ; ages ; Anesthesia procedures ; Anesthesia ; Animals ; Behavior ; Clinical Trials ; comorbidity ; co-morbid ; co-morbidity ; Confounding Factors (Epidemiology) ; Confounding Variables ; Epidemiologic Confounding Factor ; Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus ; Brittle Diabetes Mellitus ; IDDM ; Juvenile-Onset Diabetes Mellitus ; Ketosis-Prone Diabetes Mellitus ; Sudden-Onset Diabetes Mellitus ; T1 DM ; T1 diabetes ; T1D ; T1DM ; Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus ; Type 1 diabetes ; Type I Diabetes Mellitus ; insulin dependent diabetes ; juvenile diabetes ; juvenile diabetes mellitus ; ketosis prone diabetes ; type I diabetes ; type one diabetes ; Pharmaceutical Preparations ; Drugs ; Medication ; Pharmaceutic Preparations ; drug/agent ; Emulsions ; Female ; Future ; Grant ; Hospitals ; Infarction ; infarct ; Ischemia ; Laboratories ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; MR Imaging ; MR Tomography ; MRI ; Medical Imaging, Magnetic Resonance / Nuclear Magnetic Resonance ; NMR Imaging ; NMR Tomography ; Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Zeugmatography ; male ; mortality ; Mus ; Mice ; Mice Mammals ; Murine ; United States National Institutes of Health ; NIH ; National Institutes of Health ; Neurons ; Nerve Cells ; Nerve Unit ; Neural Cell ; Neurocyte ; neuronal ; Oxygen ; O element ; O2 element ; Patient Transfer ; Patients ; Placebos ; Sham Treatment ; sham therapy ; Alteplase ; Recombinant Tissue Plasminogen Activator ; T-Plasminogen Activator ; Tissue Activator D-44 ; Tissue Plasminogen Activator ; Tissue-Type Plasminogen Activator ; t-PA ; Play ; Oryctolagus cuniculus ; Domestic Rabbit ; Rabbits ; Rabbits Mammals ; Rattus ; Common Rat Strains ; Rat ; Rats Mammals ; Reperfusion Therapy ; reperfusion ; Research ; Risk ; Role ; social role ; Stroke ; Apoplexy ; Brain Vascular Accident ; Cerebral Stroke ; Cerebrovascular Apoplexy ; Cerebrovascular Stroke ; brain attack ; cerebral vascular accident ; cerebrovascular accident ; Survival Analysis ; Survival Analyses ; Testing ; Time ; Tissue Preservation ; Weight ; Measures ; Blinded ; Caring ; Thrombectomy ; Injury ; injuries ; Procedures ; Acute ; Clinical ; Phase ; Medical ; Ensure ; normotensive ; Blood flow ; Educational workshop ; Workshop ; Measurement ; Neuroprotective Agents ; Neuroprotectants ; Neuroprotective Drugs ; Therapeutic ; programs ; mechanical ; Mechanics ; dodecafluoropentane ; perfluoropentane ; Hour ; Severities ; Clinic ; Route ; Techniques ; Operative Procedures ; Surgical ; Surgical Interventions ; Surgical Procedure ; surgery ; Operative Surgical Procedures ; American ; experience ; cohort ; novel ; Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion ; Modeling ; anaerobic glycolysis ; stroke treatment ; treating stroke ; stroke therapy ; tissue oxygen saturation ; tissue oxygenation ; Ischemic Stroke ; Clotting ; Coagulation ; Coagulation Process ; Address ; Dose ; Tissue Viability ; Data ; Grant Proposals ; Applications Grants ; randomisation ; randomization ; randomly assigned ; Randomized ; Reproducibility ; Filament ; Small Business Technology Transfer Research ; STTR ; sex ; Development ; developmental ; pre-clinical ; preclinical ; preclinical study ; pre-clinical study ; National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke ; NINDS ; National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke ; cost ; functional outcomes ; Outcome ; Diabetic mouse ; diabetes mouse model ; aged ; mouse model ; murine model ; standard of care ; Regimen ; phase II trial ; phase 2 trial ; clinical candidate ; stroke patient ; stroke model ; stroke outcome ; Phase Ib/II Trial ; Phase 1b/2 Trial ; pre-clinical assessment ; preclinical assessment ;

Phase II

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