Welcome to New Horizons Pharma

New Horizons Pharma is a start-up company specializing in the development of innovative medical treatments for ischemia-reperfusion injuries such as myocardial infarction, as well as four serious medical conditions related to acute alcohol consumption: alcohol poisoning, alcohol-disulfiram reaction, disulfiram-like reaction, and alcohol flush.

All of these conditions are associated with a temporary deficiency of the aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 enzyme (“ALDH2”), are life-threatening, and can be treated through IV administration of ALDH2 in an emergency room. This treatment would quickly decrease the levels of toxic metabolites in the blood, thus preventing severe organ toxicity.

New Horizons Pharma has pioneered the development of novel products based on advances in recombinant DNA and molecular biology, focusing on product candidates that:

• Address currently unmet medical needs;
• Suggest a clear-cut development profile; and
• Provide an opportunity to be first-to-market

There is also an additional indication for the ALDH2 enzyme program. Fundamental research from Stanford University identifies mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase ALDH2 as the key enzyme responsible for cardio protection during ischemia-reperfusion damage caused by myocardial infarction (MI) in the animal model. During the reperfusion phase of MI, the ALDH2 enzyme metabolizes toxic aldehydes that are produced during ischemia. Toxic aldehydes cause significant additional damage to myocardial cells. The Stanford group was able to show that administration of the small molecule Alda-1 activates the mitochondrial ALDH2 enzyme and consequently decreases the size of MI by 60%. While most patients are not in the medical care facility during the initial ischemia period, at the time of reperfusion they are already admitted to the hospital. This provides a window of opportunity to administer ALDH2 at the time of reperfusion to minimize the size of MI.