Strong animal data on NicOx' blood pressure drug

French drugmaker NicOx SA presented good preclinical data on a prototype compound from its ongoing research collaboration with US drug major Merck & Co. These results, which were presented at the American Heart Association scientific sessions 2006, in Chicago, suggest that NicOx' proprietary nitric oxide-donating technology may have the potential to improve the blood pressure-lowering activity of anti-hypertensives.

Enalapril, a common anti-hypertensive drug, and equimolar doses of NCX 899, a nitric oxide-donating derivative of the same drug, were studied in aged spontaneously hypertensive rats, a validated model of hypertension. The companies consider the agent as a prototype compound for demonstrating the increased activity of nitric oxide-donating antihypertensives. The compounds were administered orally, once-daily, for seven consecutive days, and blood pressure was measured by continuous 24-hour telemetry monitoring. NCX 899 produced a statistically-significant better reduction in systolic blood pressure compared to enalapril when measured on day seven, between two and six hours post dosing (p<0.05).