NuvOx Pharma LLC

Category: Drugs & Pharmaceuticals

NuvOx Pharma LLC is a Bio-Medical Nano-Technology company based in Tucson, Arizona. Forty years of industry experience drives NuvOx Pharma into exciting bio-technology advancements in therapeutic approaches to cancer, hemorrhagic shock, traumatic brain injnury and stroke. The core technology of NuvOx is utilizing one particular perfluorocarbon, dodecafluoropentane (DDFP), which provides multiple advantages for respiratory gas transfer and can be applied to a host of therapeutic indications.

Due to their inherent structure, extreme stability and relative lack of inter-molecular attractive forces, perfluorocarbons are known to carry large payloads of gas such as oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen. The main advantage to using DDFP is that it is a liquid at room temperature and ambient pressure, but expands to the gas state at 29 degrees C and ambient pressure. Therefore, upon intravenous injection (at biological temperature (37 degrees C) and standard vascular pressures), a certain amount of expansion occurs in the bloodstream to allow even larger amounts of respiratory gases to be carried.

Evan C. Unger, M.D., F.A.C.R.
Co-founder / Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Unger is a practicing clinical radiologist with appointments at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center as Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering. In the early 90’s Dr. Unger founded ImaRx Pharmaceutical and led the development of three FDA approved contrast agents and one medical device, including Definity™, the #1 ultrasound contrast agent in North America. After successful sale of ImaRx Pharmaceutical to DuPont, Dr. Unger founded ImaRx Therapeutics to develop a new technology for treating vascular occlusions and led introduction of the technology into multi-center clinical trials to treat ischemic stroke. Continuing his passion for innovation he founded NuvOx Pharma to develop a new oxygen delivery technology with applications for treating critical ischemia and cancer. He is an inventor on over 100 issued US patents and Member of the NIH Gene and Drug Delivery Study Section and Associate Editor of Radiology.

Jennifer L.H. Johnson, Ph.D.
Co-founder / Chief Operating Officer

Dr. Johnson is a formulation chemist with an emphasis in intravenous drug delivery and extensive experience in emulsion technology. She earned her doctorate from the University of Arizona under the mentorship of the well known Pharmaceutics Professor, Dr. Samuel H. Yalkowsky. Dr. Johnson also holds an adjunct professor position in the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy and teaches a portion of a 'Solubility and Solubilization on Aqueous Media' short course offered every spring at La Paloma Resort in Tucson, Arizona. An overview of her experience in drug development includes combined microbubble and ultrasound technology for drug delivery, targeted and non-targeted micro and nano-emulsion formulation and oral and topical formulation of novel anti-cancer compounds. Dr. Johnson oversees the day to day operations of NuvOx.

Terry O. Matsunaga, PharmD, Ph.D.
Co-founder / Consultant

Dr. Matsunaga has a Doctorate in Pharmacy from the University of San Francisco and a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Arizona. Along side Dr. Unger, he played a key role in the successes of both ImaRx Pharmaceuticals and ImaRx Therapeutics. Dr. Matsunaga holds a full time position as a teaching and research professor at the University of Arizona in the department of Radiology and is independently funded in his research by the NIH. He has extensive expertize in government grant writing, submission and review and he sits on a study section review panel for the NIH. Dr. Matsunaga plays an important role at NuvOx as a general consultant for all federal fnding sources. He is known as our "Grant Guru".