Albuquerque, NM - Nob Hill Therapeutics (NHT), a VIC Technology Venture Development portfolio company, announced today that it has received an HHS phase II grant (up to $1.73M) to develop an inhaled therapy to treat lung fungal infection using an innovative first-of-its-kind dry powder nebulizer delivery platform technology. The funds will be used to develop the drug powder formulation and the delivery device (DryNeb) as well as other pre-IND studies.
In addition, NHT has appointed a new Chief Executive Officer. Noel Greenberger will join the company as CEO effective September 1, 2022.
Paul J Atkins, PhD, Executive Chairman NHT, said “This is an exciting time for Nob Hill. Over the past year we have established a strong foundation for the company and continued to develop our platform delivery device (DryNeb). The SBIR grant award further validates the potential benefit of this delivery technology to develop therapies to treat severe lung infections.”
“This grant is built on our successful phase I grant work conducted a year ago, which delivered encouraging animal efficacy study results. The timing is perfect as we are making significant progress on the device which is now in laboratory testing.” Yun Li PhD, Interim CEO, NHT stated.
Noel Greenberger added, “I’m thrilled to join Nob Hill. Nob Hill is poised to deliver both meaningful therapies to patients and value to its investors. The Nob Hill team has done tremendous work to date, and I look forward to working with them and building on the momentum gained during the last several months."
There are over 250 million people who suffer from lower respiratory tract infections (LTRI) every year and it is the 5th leading cause of death globally. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the urgency for effective respiratory therapies. Inhaled anti-infectives dramatically improve the targeting of therapies to the site of respiratory infections while minimizing systemic exposure and associated toxicity. Currently, there is a paucity of effective treatments to address this unmet medical need.
NHT has a patent-protected inhalation device technology (DryNeb) capable of delivering high therapeutic doses directly to the infected area in the lung. It is suitable for patients of all ages and inhalation capabilities. These factors are critical to ensure treatment efficacy when patients have limited inhalation and coordination capability as in the case with conventional dry powder inhalers.
NHT has assembled a knowledgeable management team and strategic advisors with decades of experience developing therapies for lung diseases. We are delighted that Noel Greenberger (currently a member of our advisory board) will be transitioning to an Executive management role and will provide his wealth of commercial experience as we move the company forward.
About Nob Hill Therapeutics:
Nob Hills Therapeutics patented DryNeb Dry Powder Nebulizer is proven to deliver treatment drugs to the lower respiratory tract with much higher efficiency than the current state-of-the-art dry powder inhalers. Its technology has several key advantages compared to standard dry powder inhalers in generating highly efficient drug aerosols and delivering them effectively to the lower respiratory tract independent of patients' lung capacity. To learn more, please visit nobhilltherapeutics.com
About VIC Technology Venture Development
VIC Technology Venture Development creates innovative new companies with world-changing science- and engineering-based technologies. VIC carefully selects and licenses technologies from universities and research institutions worldwide, then partners technology entrepreneurs with VIC’s business and technology experts and allocates seed capital through the national VIC Investor Network. In addition, VIC provides its portfolio companies with senior management expertise, extensive knowledge of technology startups, and proven processes to execute business strategies, including legal, financial, operations, marketing, capital acquisition, and technology management. For more information, please visit victech.com.