The agreement was entered into to advance the development of NovaBay’s Aganocide compounds by integrating extensive and ongoing clinical work at the university with NovaBay’s development program.
Under the terms of the agreement, NovaBay will fund ongoing research in the laboratories of Dr Gottardi and Dr Nagl at the Medical University of Innsbruck and NovaBay will have access to past and future data generated in human clinical trials by Dr Nagl, Dr Gottardi and their collaborators. These data are expected to support many of the indications being pursued by NovaBay and its partners.
NovaBay expects Alcon, its licensee for the use of Aganocide compounds in the treatment of eye, ear and sinus infections, to start human trials in the ear during 2009 with NovaBay’s lead Aganocide compound NVC-422. Dr Nagl and Dr Gottardi have also pursued studies with N-chlorotaurine (NCT), a natural antimicrobial produced by the body’s white blood cells, in additional indications that can provide NovaBay with guidance in its future clinical programs.
In addition to the research agreement, NovaBay has obtained an exclusive license to a broad portfolio of intellectual property covering uses of NCT compounds. As a result, NovaBay said that it has augmented its composition of matter patent for Aganocide compounds with a license to a series of patents covering key potential uses, including utility of NCT compounds in pulmonary diseases and their potential use in major animal health markets, such as mastititis.
Bez Khosrovi, vice president of R&D at NovaBay, said: “We see this collaboration as adding significant depth to our preclinical and clinical development programs and to the continued exploration of the properties of our Aganocide compounds. We expect that our joint efforts will provide important information that may further accelerate our efforts to develop this novel class of anti-infectives.”