GeNO LLC Receives Additional Patent for Inhaled NITROSYL™ Nitric Oxide Product

COCOA, Fla., April 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- GeNO LLC (www.genollc.com), a privately held, advanced development-stage technology company, today announced that it received a sixth patent on its inhaled NITROSYL™ nitric oxide (NO) product.  The product is currently in two Phase 2 trials: one trial is using the product as a diagnostic in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) to obtain preliminary safety and feasibility data from short term (15 minute) administration of inhaled nitric oxide and a second trial relates to dose-escalation for the Treatment of Pulmonary Hypertension in patients with PAH and Pulmonary Hypertension secondary to Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (PH-IPF).

"This patent adds to the portfolio of patents we are developing for our unique product," said GeNO LLC Founder and President David Fine, Ph.D. "There are multiple ways we approach our core technology, and as a company we are always exploring various elements."

GeNO's stand-alone gas cylinder stores premixed nitric oxide as nitrogen dioxide in either air or oxygen. The gas is allowed to flow through GeNO's proprietary cartridge, which generates nitric oxide immediately prior to inhalation. A second cartridge is provided for redundancy.  

This newly-issued patent relates to the GeNO cartridge technology that eliminates nitrogen dioxide (NO2) from the gas being delivered to the patient.  

No medications are currently approved for treatment of pulmonary hypertension (PH) associated with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).  IPF is characterized by progressive fibrosis in the lungs with a median survival time from diagnosis of two to five years and a five-year survival rate of approximately 20 percent.  Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare progressive disorder that carries a poor prognosis and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality, having an historical survival rate rarely exceeding five years.  

The next version of GeNO's platform to enter the clinic later this year will be the GeNO Ambulatory NITROSYL™ System, which is a hand-held unit with a disposable liquid source.  This portable unit snaps into a small, battery operated pump module that is attached to a hip or arm holster and provides up to a 4-day continuous supply of inhaled nitric oxide for chronic use.

Additional study details can be found on http://clinicaltrials.gov/ -- ClinicalTrials.gov Identifiers NCT01092559 and NCT01265888.  

ABOUT GeNO LLC

GeNO LLC, founded in 2006, is a privately held, advanced development-stage technology company that is developing innovative nitric oxide (NO) generation and delivery platforms to enable the broad potential of inhaled nitric oxide to be realized. The company is focused on applying the new technology to deliver inhaled nitric oxide to patients in a wide variety of settings, including ambulatory and in-home use for potential chronic treatment. GeNO's NITROSYL™ Systems will be regulated by the FDA as new drugs with their own NDAs. GeNO plans to submit an IND to FDA later this year to begin evaluation of the GeNO Ambulatory NITROSYL™ System. The company has six US patents with additional patent applications pending.

SOURCE GeNO LLC