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Nanoviricides (NNVC) Target a Plethora of Viruses

October 30. 2013. 2 mins read

In previous articles we have discussed the potential of nanotechnology enabled drug delivery systems such as those offered by Bind Therapeutics. We also noted that companies such as SkyePharma and Flamel were discussed as having potential but neither company has succeeded yet in launching a blockbuster nanotechnology drug. More importantly, we have highlighted the fact that over-the-counter companies often use the word “nano” in an attempt to gain credibility with investors often leading to disastrous results. One company that recently began trading on the NYSE Marketplace is Nanoviricides.

About NanoViricides, Inc.

NanoViricides, Inc. (NYSEMKT:NNVC) was incorporated under the laws of the State of Colorado on July 25, 2000 as Edot-com.com, Inc. and was organized for the purpose of conducting Internet retail sales. On June 1, 2005, Edot-com.com, Inc. acquired NanoViricide, Inc., a privately owned Florida corporation and shortly thereafter changed its name to NanoViricides, Inc and listed on the Pink Sheets as “NNVC”. In June 2007 the Company moved to the OTC exchange. Last month the company announced a move to the NYSE Market and the stock price moved significantly upwards in response with a 1-year return of +165%:

Source: Yahoo Finance
Source: Yahoo Finance

Nanoviricides has no revenues as of yet and a current market cap of $262 million.

Technology

The company’s technology is refered to as Nanoviricides. These are designed to work by binding to and eliminating virus particles from the bloodstream, just as antibodies do, only potentially much better. A nanoviricide is designed to seek and attach to a specific virus particle, engulfing the virus particle in the process, thereby rendering it incapable of infecting new cells. Using this technology, the company is claiming to be developing drugs for H5N1 bird flu, seasonal influenza, HIV, Pink Eye, Hepatitis C, Herpes Sores, Genital Herpes, Rabies, Dengue Fever, and the Ebola Virus. None of these potential drug applications have progressed beyond animal studies.

Intellectual Property

In their latest 10-K the Company lists an issued patent and two pending patent applications as their intellectual property portfolio. Nanoviricides states that the issued patent is of an inferior technology and that the company will not utilize it. This leaves the two remaining patent applications as the intellectual property that will protect the “nanoviricide” product offering. The Company goes on to state that all of the drugs in their pipeline by themselves may be eligible for patent protection and that the Company plans on filing patent applications for protecting these drugs when they have definitive results from in-vitro or in-vivo studies.

Conclusion

Nanoviricides has no revenues, a questionable IP portfolio, and no partnerships with any major pharmaceutical companies. Given that, Nanoviricides claims their current cash on hand will sustain them until their first human trials. The company is highly speculative but certainly any signs of a revenue stream, progress towards human trials, or an announcement showing interest by a major pharmaceutical company should put the company on investors’ radar.

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  1. Thanks for the writeup. However, your comments on our IP are incorrect. The “inferior” patent is not included in our patent portfolio. We have been issued 3 distinct patents in each of 25 countries including the US, China, Japan and Australia to name a few. Thus our IP protection is quite substantial and is by no means “inferior”. You can do a patent search on AllExcel which holds the patents that are licensed to NanoViricides in perpetuity.

    Sincerely

    Eugene Seymour, MD, MPH
    CEO, NanoViricides

    1. Thank you very much for the input Eugene. Our comments were made based on the below excerpt from your 10-K filing last month:

      Of the patents and technologies licensed, the Company believes that the Company will not be using the intellectual property, compositions of matter, or other aspects described and secured under the US Patent No. US 6,521,736. The Company believes that this patent describes an inferior technology compared to the technology in the later patent filings of Dr. Diwan. This patent, the Company believes, discloses prototype materials that served to establish the proof of principles developed by Dr. Anil Diwan, the Company’s President and co- founder, whether such materials were possible to create and whether such materials would indeed be capable of encapsulation of pharmaceutically relevant compounds. The Company believes that the new and novel compositions disclosed in the new patent applications, No. PCT/US06/01820, and No. PCT/US2007/001607, and additional proprietary intellectual property provide the necessary features that enable the development of nanoviricides.

      We noted only the above three patents/patent applications listed in the below section of the 10-K:

      Table 2: Intellectual Property, Patents and Pending Patents Licensed by The Company

      We always refer to SEC filings when writing articles as they are truest source of information about a company. However if there has been an update or if you wish to clarify further your current IP portfolio we will be happy to amend the article.

      Thank you again for the input!

  2. ” The Company believes that this patent describes an inferior technology compared to the technology in the later patent filings of Dr. Diwan”.

    It was not that the PANENT was inferiour but that the TECHNOLOGY covered by the patent was inferior.

    Clearly it must be a DIFFERENT technology, as a reading of it will confirm: that technology covers delivery of drugs ACROSS MEMBRANES into cells. Nanoviricides do not cross any membranes at all and do not enter cells.

    It is a different technology which NNVC is not using so it’s simply not relevant to NNVC’s IP