NangioTx Inc. is developing technology to treat peripheral artery disease (PAD). There are 8 million Americans living with PAD. In these patients, obstructed arteries result in poor blood flow (ischemia) to cardiac and peripheral tissues, and manifests in pain with walking (intermittent claudication). Prolonged ischemia inhibits wound healing, starves the muscles of oxygen and nutrients, and causes muscle wasting (atrophy) or cell death (necrosis). Given the high rate of surgical failure, the inevitable prognosis for advanced stage PAD (critical limb ischemia, CLI) is amputation (at 30%) and death (at 25%). NangioTx has a unique approach to treating PAD that is based on molecular mimicry of the bodys natural mechanism for blood vessel generation. The process is mediated by the engagement of the Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) to its cognate receptors (VEGFR). Towards this end, NangioTx has licensed V-10, the lead self-assembling peptide mimic of VEGF (otherwise known as the QK domain) for inducing angiogenesis and treating poor blood flow in PAD. V-10 was developed through 10+ years of research at Rice University, and consists of a novel multi-domain sequence of 31 amino acids, with each of the domains serving a unique purpose. V-10 is easily produced by solid phase peptide synthesis, and its shelf life at room temperature is longer than a year in a standard laboratory environment.
