NovaBay partners with medical professors to advance treatment development

EMERYVILLE, Calif. An American drug maker that develops drugs to treat and prevent infections has entered a partnership with professors from the Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria.

NovaBay Pharmaceuticals announced the partnership Wednesday with professors Waldemar Gottardi and Markus Nagl. NovaBay aims to advance development of its Aganocide compounds by integrating its development program with the university’s clinical work.

The Aganocide compounds are synthetic analogs of N-chlorotaurine, also known as NCT, an antimicrobial compound produced in the body’s white blood cells. Nagl and Gottardi have conducted extensive clinical research and produced patents and publications for several years on the use of the compound.

“We are very excited to collaborate with this world-class research team and pleased to draw on the extensive experience of professors Gottardi and Nagl in understanding the role of our class of molecules in the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases,” NovaBay chairman and CEO Ron Najafi said. “We look forward to building on their work to further expand the range of clinical opportunities provided by our Aganocide compound platform.”