Press Release

NoNO Inc. Announces the Start of the Global Phase 3 ESCAPE-NEXT Trial of the Peptide Nerinetide in Acute Ischemic Stroke Excluding Thrombolysis

TORONTO, Dec 6, 2020 – NoNO Inc. is pleased to announce the enrollment of the first patient in the ESCAPE-NEXT trial, NoNO’s second global phase 3 trial of its lead peptide, Nerinetide. ESCAPE-NEXT is a multicentre, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, parallel group, single-dose design to determine the efficacy and safety of nerinetide in participants with acute ischemic stroke undergoing endovascular thrombectomy (EVT). ESCAPE-NEXT is informed by the ESCAPE-NA1 trial which suggested that treatment with nerinetide may improve functional independence, reduce stroke mortality, and reduce brain damage due to stroke in patients who undergo EVT without the prior administration of thrombolytic (“clot busting”) agents. ESCAPE-NA1 results were presented at the 2020 International Stroke Conference in February.

“Our prior trial showed us which stroke patients may benefit from nerinetide. ESCAPE-NEXT is a further pivotal study, focused on those patients, and is intended to confirm the promising findings of clinical benefits suggested by ESCAPE-NA1. ESCAPE-NEXT has a substantially similar design, but focuses on those patients who may experience the greatest benefit from nerinetide” said Dr. Michael Tymianski, President, CEO and founder of NoNO Inc.

“We are exploring a novel mechanism of action for a new drug in a very common, but devasting disease. A new drug for acute ischemic stroke has the potential to further transform stroke therapeutics,” said Dr. Michael Hill, MD, Global Principal Investigator and Professor of Neurology at the Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary.

ESCAPE-NEXT is designed to evaluate the clinical benefits of nerinetide in acute stroke patients who are selected for endovascular revascularization without prior treatment with intravenous thrombolytic therapy. The trial will enroll adult participants in the USA, Canada, Europe and Australia. It has an initial enrollment target of 680 participants, with an option to increase the sample to 1020 following an interim analysis. Pivotal outcomes will be evaluated at 90 days with a further analysis at one year after the stroke.

About NoNO Inc.

NoNO Inc. is an Ontario biotechnology company whose focus is on developing therapeutic drugs in areas of unmet medical needs. Its drug pipeline includes therapeutic agents in various stages of development ranging from cellular and molecular discovery to human clinical trials. Its lead projects relate to diseases of the nervous system whose mechanisms involve the protein PSD-95, including stroke, traumatic brain injury and neuropathic pain. NoNO Inc.’s strategy is to inhibit key protein-protein interactions of PSD-95 that are involved selectively in cellular signals that cause cell damage, but without interfering with normal cell functions. For more information, please visit www.nonoinc.ca.