NovaBiotics Ltd
Cruickshank Building
Craibstone
Aberdeen
AB21 9TR
UK
Despite representing a market predicted to be worth US $2 bn by 2015, treatment options remain limited as regards antibiotics for CF. The most effective therapies cost >US $20,000/patient/year. More effective treatments (in terms of clinical success and cost) are clearly needed and considering the number of years over which patients will require continuous treatment, next-generation drugs must not pose a significant risk of microbial resistance. Novarifyn™ kills rather than merely inhibiting all, not just a limited component of the CF microbiota with which patients will have to contend during life/disease progression. Mucolytic agents such as Lynovex™are equally as important as antimicrobials in tackling CF and Lynovex™ (already approved for other therapeutic uses) not only outperforms currently used agents in its ability to break down CF biofilms/mucous, but also kills the component bacteria and in so doing, complements Novarifyn™ and other antibiotic agents.
The Company’s unique programme of respiratory antibacterial research has generated product candidates and therapy combinations that have the potential to succeed where conventional therapies for respiratory infections have failed. Importantly, NovaBiotics' technology is not sensitive to the altered ionic (salt) environment of the airway surfaces in Cystic Fibrosis. NovaBiotics' novel antimicrobial peptides have a lower risk of resistance development than currently approved antibiotics and can also be aerosolised to facilitate delivery directly into the respiratory tract.
NovaBiotics is targeting potentially life-threatening lung infections including those that exacerbate the progressive lung damage associated with Cystic Fibrosis (CF). Uniquely, NovaBiotics is applying two complementary approaches to tackle this clinical problem and both are focused on effective killing of the causative pathogens and disruption of the biofilms which these microbes create as a means of protection against the immune system and antibiotic therapies. The Company’s first approach has been to develop a novel, potent broad-spectrum peptide antibacterial, Novarifyn™. The second approach has been to develop a novel mucolytic agent, Lynovex™. Novarifyn™ and Lynovex™ can be used alone or in combination and also together with conventional antibiotics.