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NicOx: Challenging the Cox-2s?

 
• By Melanie Senior

Recent concerns over the cardiovascular risk profile of Cox-2 inhibitors strengthen the case for pain compound AZD 3582, a new formulation of naproxen in Phase II trials at AstraZeneca. For the compound's originator, NicOx, forthcoming trial results will be critical in validating the firm's founding concept: grafting a nitric oxide molecule onto existing generic drugs.

Nitric oxide (NO) is a signaling molecule involved in the control of a wide range of physiological processes, from vasodilation and platelet aggregation to inflammation. Discovered in the late eighties as the compound responsible for the properties of what was previously known as endothelium-derived relaxing factor, NO stimulates the guanyl cyclase enzyme, which leads to smooth muscle relaxation—a pathway targeted by Pfizer Inc. 's impotence drug sildenafil (Viagra).

The founding concept of the French biotech firm Nicox SA —set up by Italian entrepreneur Michele Garufi, PhD, in...

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