BioCentury
ARTICLE | Emerging Company Profile

Arginetix: Another NO to PAH

December 7, 2009 8:00 AM UTC

Marketed therapeutics that target the endothelin, prostacyclin or nitric oxide pathways have improved the outcomes for patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension, yet mortality remains high. Arginetix Inc. believes its arginase inhibitors could complement marketed therapeutics by offering a second approach to the nitric oxide pathway.

In PAH, excessive proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells in vessel walls causes vasoconstriction of the pulmonary arteries, restricting blood flow from the heart to the lungs. Patients have reduced capacity for exercise and eventually experience right ventricular failure and premature death...