HHS selects Novan Therapeutics to develop mass casualty thermal burn therapy

The Department of Health and Human Services has awarded a $7.8 million contract to Novan Therapeutics to develop a nitric oxide-based therapy for topically treating thermal burns, the drug development company has announced.

The contract was awarded by Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), an agency within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, according to a press release. The current burn-care infrastructure could be overwhelmed by a mass casualty event caused by natural or intentional threats to public health, which could result in thousands of burn patients, Novan stated.

The funding is awarded over two years for pharmaceutic development of the Nitric Oxide Advanced Healing (NOAH) technology that includes formulation work, nonclinical toxicology and proof of concept studies in deep partial thickness and full thickness thermal injury models, the release stated. The project should allow future clinical investigation of the medical countermeasure.

The project’s findings should complement Novan’s existing work on developing nitric oxide therapies, according to the release. The company recently evaluated topical nitric oxide therapies’ effects in porcine wound models.

“We are honored that BARDA selected our team to develop a nitric oxide therapy for thermal burns,” Nathan Stasko, PhD, president of Novan. “The link between nitric oxide and the body’s ability to heal is well established. The challenge is to created stable nitric oxide drugs that ‘perform on command’ and deliver a controlled, sustained dose that will supplement the body’s ability to regenerate tissue. … We believe the NOAH technology creates the gateway into regenerative medicine and could lead to therapies that can help heal both acute and chronic wounds.”