NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that it has received a Notice of Allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office on a patent application for a broad portfolio of anti-infective compounds, including NVC-612. The patent will broaden protection for NovaBay’s first-in-class Aganocide family of compounds, which are designed to fight infections without causing drug resistance.

The patent will cover compositions of matter and methods of use for NVC-612 and related compounds, all of which have a unique mechanism of action toward microorganisms. This new patent complements NovaBay’s existing collection of more than 20 patents and pending patent applications on its proprietary technology platforms. NovaBay holds a patent for its lead anti-infective compound, NVC-422, and has a license to a broad portfolio of pending patent applications covering N-Chlorotaurine(NCT), the naturally occurring antimicrobial molecule from which NovaBay’s technology is derived. NVC-422 is currently being studied in four phase 2 clinical trials for conjunctivitis(Pink Eye), the skin infection impetigo, catheter-associated urinary tract infection, and acne.

“This latest patent will further protect NovaBay’s intellectual property, as the company expands its pipeline of first-in-class non-antibiotic anti-infectives to address additional indications,” said Dr. Mark Anderson, chief scientific officer. “NovaBay’s Aganocide compounds for treating non-systemic, topical infections are designed to rapidly fight infection without causing drug-resistance. This is increasingly important as resistance to antibiotics is becoming a growing public health concern worldwide.”

The Aganocide compounds are novel, proprietary, synthetic N-chlorinated antimicrobial molecules specifically developed by NovaBay to mimic the body’s natural defense against infection. The Aganocide compounds maintain biological activities while demonstrating improved stability over the naturally occurring N-chlorinated antimicrobial molecules. These highly differentiated, first-in-class, small-molecule, new chemical entities may deliver the same or better efficacy than currently used antibiotics without contributing to the growing rise of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains. In preclinical testing, the Aganocide compounds have been shown to be highly effective against bacteria, including multi-drug resistant strains(such as MRSA), as well as viruses and fungi. They also have been demonstrated to be effective against bacteria in biofilm, which render most antibiotics ineffective. The Aganocide compounds have a broad therapeutic index while providing a high degree of potency and tolerability as well as dosing versatility and flexibility.

NovaBay Pharmaceuticals is a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on developing its proprietary Aganocide compounds, which are novel, synthetic anti-infective product candidates with equivalent activity to the active antimicrobial molecules generated within white blood cells.