Abstract
Summary
This report describes the latest concepts of the role of nitric oxide (NO) in
health and disease as a basis for therapeutics and development of new drugs.
Major segments of the market for nitric oxide-based drugs are described as
well as the companies involved in developing them.
Nitric oxide (NO) can generate free radicals as well as scavenge them. It also
functions as a signaling molecule and has an important role in the
pathogenesis of several diseases. A major focus is delivery of NO by various
technologies. Another approach is modulation of nitric oxide synthase (NOS),
which converts L-arginine to NO. NOS can be stimulated as well as inhibited by
pharmacological and gene therapy approaches.
Important therapeutic areas for NO-based therapies are inflammatory disorders,
cardiovascular diseases, erectile dysfunction, inflammation, pain and
neuroprotection. The first therapeutic use of NO was by inhaltion for acute
respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). NO-donors, NO-mimics and NOS modulators
are described and compared along with developmental status. NO-related
mechanisms of action in existing drugs are identified.
Various pharmacological approaches are described along with their therapeutic
relevance. Various approaches are compared using SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, Threats) analysis. NO-based therapies are compared with
conventional approaches and opportunities for combination with modern
biotechnology approaches are described.
Share of drugs where NO is involved in the mechanism of action is analyzed in
the worldwide pharmaceutical market for 2007 and is projected to 2012 and 2017
as new drugs with NO-based mechanisms are introduced into the market. Various
strategies for developing such drugs are discussed.
Several companies have a product or products involving NO and free radicals.
The report includes profiles of 39 companies involved in this area of which 10
have a significant interest in NO-based therapeutics. Other players are
pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies as well as suppliers of products
for NO research. Unfulfilled needs in the development of NO-based therapeutics
are identified. Important collaborations in this area are tabulated.
As of the end of 2007, there are over 85,000 publications relevant to NO.
Selected 500 references are included in the bibliography. The text is
supplemented with 24 tables and 22 figures.It is concluded that the future
prospects for NO-based therapies are bright and fit in with
biotechnology-based approaches to modern drug discovery and development. It is
anticipated that some of these products will help in meeting the unfulfilled
needs in human therapeutics.
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