I beg to differ losers:Kalytera Therapeutics Inc. has signed a binding letter of intent dated May 12, 2020, to acquire Salzman Group Inc., a privately held company located in West Tisbury, Mass. Salzman Group is the owner of R-107, a proprietary drug with issued and pending composition of matter and method of use patents in approximately 40 countries, including the U.S., Australia, Brazil, China, Europe, India, Japan, Russia and South Korea. Salzman Group is developing R-107 for treatment of COVID-19 associated lung disease, chlorine inhalation lung injury ("CILI") and pulmonary arterial hypertension ("PAH"). Subject to completion of customary due diligence, the Company expects that definitive agreements will be executed by June 15, 2020. In connection with this announcement, the Company has requested that a trading halt of the Company's common shares be affected in compliance with the requirements of the TSX Venture Exchange.
Highlights
R-107 is a liquid prodrug of nitric oxide. Based on the fact that nitric oxide is an approved treatment for acute respiratory failure in newborns, and the clinical evidence of nitric oxide's antiviral activity against strains of coronavirus, Salzman Group will develop R-107 for treatment of COVID-19 associated lung disease.
Salzman Group is also developing R-107 for chlorine inhalation lung injury ("CILI" ). This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the Department of Health and Human Services; Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response; Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, under Contract No. HHSO100201600016C (the "BARDA Contract").
Salzman Group will make a n application for an additional BARDA contract to develop R-107 for treatment of COVID-19 associated lung disease.
COVID-19
R-107 is a proprietary and novel molecule that acts as a nitric oxide donor. Nitric oxide normally exists in a gaseous state, and is approved as such by the FDA for administration to patients via inhalation therapy requiring a special type of delivery device, and complex administration by trained respiratory therapists. R-107, in contrast, is a liquid that is readily administered by a single intramuscular injection. In addition to its clear advantages in simplicity of administration, R-107 does not lose its potency after prolonged periods of administration. In contrast, other nitric oxide donors in liquid form, such as nitroglycerin, rapidly induce tolerance and lose biological activity after more than a single dose. Accordingly, R-107 is poised to be the first liquid nitric oxide donor that is easy and inexpensive to administer and provides sustained and biologically effective delivery.
Gaseous nitric oxide is already approved by the FDA as an inhalation therapy for treating newborns with acute pulmonary hypertension and respiratory failure, and has shown clinical evidence of antiviral activity against strains of coronavirus. For example, inhaled nitric oxide has demonstrated an inhibitory effect on the replication of the SARS virus ("SARS-CoV").1 The SARS virus is a coronavirus. Inhalable nitric oxide will also be evaluated in a Phase 2 clinical study sponsored by Massachusetts General Hospital in severe acute respiratory syndrome in COVID-19.2