PRETECT™ Platform
nibrozetone (RRx-001)
PRETECT combines the words pretreatment, and protection
A major but often-overlooked medical issue is discontinuation or nonadherence to treatment. Dose reductions and drug discontinuations/nonadherence are one of the biggest reasons for treatment failure and treatment resistance.
To address this problem, EpicentRx designed the first-in-class NLRP3 inhibitor and Nrf2 upregulator, RRx-001, and its derivatives with “pretection” in mind, that is RRx-001 and its derivatives protect or shield normal tissues from the side effects of other therapies when administered as a pretreatment. Based on this pretection mechanism, RRx-001 has been awarded Fast Track designation for the treatment of severe oral mucositis in head and neck cancer. The hoped-for result of pretection is better tolerability, improved convenience, cost effectiveness, and adherence to treatment with lower rates of treatment resistance and failure in cancer and several neurodegenerative conditions.
An integral part of the pretection mechanism is inhibition of the NLRP3 inflammasome, illustrated below.
The Inflammasome
Regulating chronic inflammation
The NLRP3 inflammasome kickstarts and perpetuates chronic inflammation, a hallmark of most major diseases, including cancer, through the production of the pro-inflammatory cytokines, IL-1β, and IL-18.
“The direct inhibition of the inflammasome by nibrozetone (RRx-001) has the potential to prevent and treat several chronic inflammation driven diseases, which is a huge opportunity and very exciting.”
RICHARD GORDON, Ph.D., DABT
Chief Neuroscience Collaborator
The neuroprotective effects of RRx-001
With funding from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research and Shake it Up Australia, and led by Dr. Richard Gordon at the University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research in Brisbane, Australia, RRx-001 is under investigation as an inflammasome inhibitor and Nrf2 upregulator that may reduce or reverse symptoms of Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.
RICHARD GORDON, Ph.D., DABT
Chief Neuroscience Collaborator
Dr Richard Gordon leads the Translational Neuroscience Laboratory at The University of Queensland and has a career track record of research in neuroinflammation. His research program aims to develop new therapeutic strategies for the treatment Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders, with a focus on targeting chronic immune and inflammasome activation which drives neurodegeneration. Dr Gordon’s research has contributed to groundbreaking advances in the field neuroinflammation, including most recently, the discovery inflammasome activation in PD as a key driver of synuclein pathology and disease progression. He also Dr Gordon is a board-certified Toxicologist with the American Board of Toxicology (ABT). He is also a Science Ambassador for the World Parkinson’s Coalition and has served on the Gene Technology Technical Advisory Committee (GTTAC) for the Department of Health for the Australian Federal Government.
Chief Financial Officer
CHRIS LARSON,
M.D. Ph.D.
Vice President of Viral Therapy
MEAGHAN STIRN,
M.B.A
Controller & VP of Special Projects
SCOTT CAROEN
Senior Director of Operations & Corporate Development
Rajan Kumar
ESQ
Chief Executive Officer & Chief Scientific Office
Control inflammation & control the disease
RRx-001 inhibits the inflammasome
Chief Financial Officer
CHRIS LARSON,
M.D. Ph.D.
Vice President of Viral Therapy
MEAGHAN STIRN,
M.B.A
Controller & VP of Special Projects
SCOTT CAROEN
Senior Director of Operations & Corporate Development
Rajan Kumar
ESQ
Chief Executive Officer & Chief Scientific Office
Control inflammation & control the disease
RRx-001 inhibits the inflammasome
SUSAN KNOX, M.D.
Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology, Emerita, Stanford University
Stanford Hospital and Clinics, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital
THEODORE LAWRENCE, M.D., Ph.D.
Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Michigan
Isadore Lampe Professor of Radiation Oncology
KENNETH C. ANDERSON, M.D.
Kraft Family Professor of Medicine, Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Physician, Oncology, Brigham And Women’s Hospital
SUSAN KNOX, M.D.
Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology, Emerita, Stanford University
Stanford Hospital and Clinics, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital
THEODORE LAWRENCE, M.D., Ph.D.
Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Michigan
Isadore Lampe Professor of Radiation Oncology
KENNETH C. ANDERSON, M.D.
Kraft Family Professor of Medicine, Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Physician, Oncology, Brigham And Women’s Hospital