In 2008, Evan Unger acquired rights to a contrasting agent approved for use in Europe, dodecafluoropentane emulsion (DDFPe).
It was never marketed for competitive reasons, the story goes, but Unger saw potential beyond imaging. So after negotiating rights, he launched his third startup, NuvOx Pharma, with an aim to treat various forms of hypoxia (oxygen deficiency).
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It was a good idea, according to judges of the Pitch Perfect competition at the MedCity INVEST conference in May. Unger’s pitch took first place in the biopharma track.
In a follow-up interview, NuvOx Business Development Assoc. John McGonigle shared some background about the technology and the Tucson, Arizona-based startup’s journey to date.
The concept is fairly simple. DDFPe is administered intravenously. It quickly migrates through the bloodstream to the lungs, where it picks up the necessary oxygen. Through passive diffusion, it then makes its way to any hypoxic tissue to deliver O2 where it’s needed most.
The company’s pipeline is diverse. Its lead program, poised to move into Phase 2 trials, aims to help treat a type of brain cancer called glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). One of the challenges with GBM is that the tumor itself is hypoxic, which reduces the efficacy of existing cancer therapies. By administering DDFPe, NuvOx hopes to restore oxygen to the tumor and enhance the patient’s response to treatment.
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A second program looks at stroke and protecting the brain immediately after an attack. A third is investigating the use of DDFPe in sickle cell crises.
There’s a lot going on, which begs the question: How is NuvOx funding all this R&D?
To date, there hasn’t been any venture capital financing, but it has raised $6 million from angel investors, including the Desert Angels. That money adds to grants from the NIH, the State of Arkansas, the Arizona Commerce Authority, the military, and other sources, which have been maximized by the team.
“NuVox has several things that help make it a very capital efficient company,” McGonigle said, noting that the strategies were both by design and out of need.
“One of the big things that has really helped is that we’re based in Tucson,” he said. Despite the smaller talent pool, NuvOx has been able to hire qualified individuals that are also very motivated. So motivated, in fact, that they take equity in the company as part of their payment package.
Unger has also worked as CEO for years without cash and instead gets paid with more equity shares. What’s more, he’s landlord of the company’s facility. How does NuvOx pay rent? You guessed it — with equity.
Many incubators and investors take an equity share in startups, so it’s not that different. NuvOx is just keeping in in-house. And they’re not really starting from scratch. DDFPe has a lot of history that the team can draw on.
“We have a lot of data from the original developers,” McGonigle said. “They used the drug in 2,200 patients and got it approved in Europe.” FDA has officially given the group permission to reference that data as they build a case for the drug in new indications.
New indications, indeed. Many common conditions involve an element of hypoxia; heart attacks, sickle cell crises, oncology, and traumatic brain injury, to name a few.
“There have been over 20 animal studies showing oxygen delivery and or therapeutic benefit in a number of indications,” McGonigle said. Some preclinical work has even been carried out by the navy and military. “We really see this as a platform technology.”
NuvOx isn’t the first to treat hypoxia, of course. Scientists have been experimenting with oxygenated fluorocarbons for decades with the same indications in mind. According to McGonigle, there’s one major distinction: NuvOx’s DDFPe is active at less than 1/200th the dose of fluorocarbons. And a lower dose means fewer side effects.
“That’s where the real breakthrough is,” he said.
Photo: dszc, Getty Images