Numerous opportunities to change patients’ lives
Our proprietary NITROME Platform leverages our unique knowledge of protein nitration to unlock the full therapeutic potential of nitrases by identifying novel nitrases, their nitro-substrates and their role in particular diseases. The NITROME platform allows us to elucidate the biology of nitrases and delivers novel therapeutics for a wide variety of diseases.
Lead Indications
Parkinson’s Disease
A key example of the power of our NITROME platform is our discovery of Synuclein Nitrase (the specific synuclein nitration enzyme). This represents a significant scientific breakthrough that provides an ideal therapeutic target to halt Parkinson’s disease (PD).
The buildup of aggregated alpha-synuclein is a hallmark of PD. Our data suggest a key role for the nitration of alpha synuclein in mediating disease pathology and dysfunction in PD.
These synuclein aggregates are heavily nitrated and this nitration strongly induces neurodegenerative disease in preclinical models, promoting neuronal death.
We have identified and are advancing multiple drug modalities that inhibit Synuclein Nitrase and its pathway for the treatment of Parkinson’s Disease.
Cancer
The NITROME platform has also identified several nitrases and nitro-substrates that play an important role in cancer as well as in immuno-oncology.
These nitrases and their nitro-substrates have been shown to play a key role as tumor survival factors, mediators of apoptosis and promoters of resistance to PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors.
Several studies have shown that the overexpression of some nitrases was associated with poorer overall survival in multiple cancer types and that elimination of the nitrase in cellular models slowed tumor growth, reduced viability, and increased the rate of apoptosis.
We are identifying inhibitors of nitrases to target cancer-promoting nitrases and their nitro-substrates in underserved solid and hematological tumors.
Given the broad and diverse biology of nitrases and their nitro-substrates, Nitrase Therapeutics is also advancing programs in other therapeutic areas where nitrases and nitro-substrates play a role in disease establishment or progression, including acute lung injury, lung fibrosis, and autoimmune diseases.
Based on the breadth of nitrases and nitro-substrates that Nitrase Therapeutics has discovered to-date, the pipeline and potential collaboration opportunities across therapeutic areas is vast.