Neuronos Ltd., a subsidiary of Beyond Air Inc., has announced the granting of orphan drug designation by the FDA to BA-101 for the treatment of glioblastoma (GBM). The company is advancing development of BA-101 toward first-in-human studies.

Neuronos Ltd., a subsidiary of Beyond Air Inc.’s, has secured an initial $2 million in equity financing from private investors as part of a larger funding round. This investment will accelerate the preclinical development of Neuronos’s small-molecule drug for autism that leverages the regulation of nitric oxide (NO) levels in the brain. The company’s small-molecule therapy is based on research from Hebrew University.

Beyond Air Inc. completed a senior secured debt financing of up to $40 million from Avenue Capital Group to support the company’s commercial launch of the Lungfit PH and further development of the Lungfit platform. Beyond Air is focused on applications of nitric oxide for the treatment of patients with a range of respiratory conditions. Its affiliate, Beyond Cancer Ltd., is developing a treatment for solid tumors that uses an ultra-high concentration of nitric oxide.

Beyond Air Inc. has entered into an agreement with Yissum Research Development Co. of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to license the commercial rights for multiple neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) inhibitor candidates, currently being developed for the treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other neurological conditions.

As companies scramble to develop diagnostic tests and vaccines for COVID-19, there is a need for effective treatments for patients suffering severe respiratory effects from the novel coronavirus. To that end, Beyond Air Inc., of Garden City, N.Y., and Rehovot, Israel, has applied to the U.S. FDA to conduct an IDE trial of its inhaled nitric oxide (NO) system, Lungfit Bro, in COVID-19 patients.