Qnovia Inc., a Richmond startup focused on smoking cessation technology, has entered a drug-development partnership with the University of Virginia to advance new inhaled-drug candidates for treating bacterial infections of the lungs.
Under the collaboration agreement, UVa. School of Medicine doctors will combine Qnovia’s RespiRX drug-delivery platform with the university’s proprietary portfolio of antimicrobial peptides to kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
RespiRx is a hand-held aerosol medical device that delivers drugs quickly. Its first aim was to deliver nicotine to help people quit smoking, but this deal expands its application.
Terms of the deal with the university were not disclosed.
Qnovia said the deal adds two new assets to its development pipeline: QN-05 for the treatment of pneumonia and QN-06 for the treatment of pulmonary infection for individuals exposed to the causative agent in anthrax.
“We believe our technology has the potential to provide meaningful therapeutic options for patients combating life-threatening infectious diseases,” Qnovia CEO Brian Quigley said in a statement. “We believe this collaboration further validates our platform technology and its potential to improve patient outcomes across a variety of indication areas.”
Qnovia said medical researchers at the university completed feasibility studies involving its drug delivery platform.
Other assets in Qnovia’s pipeline include inhaled products to treat asthma and COPD, pain management, depression and anxiety.
The company announced a $17 million equity round in August 2022 and it recently raised an additional $2.9 million. Quigley told us in August the round was larger than indicated in public documents.
Health care executive Mario Danek founded Qnovia in 2018. In 2020, Quigley, the former CEO of Altria Group’s smokeless division, joined the company as chief operating officer. He was named CEO in 2022, and Danek moved to chief technology officer. Quigley moved the company's base of operations from California to the Richmond area.
