The Vancouver biotech betting that the smallest molecule your body already makes can stop infection before it starts.
SaNOtize Research and Development Corp. - the corporate mark of a company whose name hides "NO," the chemical symbol for nitric oxide. Vancouver, British Columbia.
Most biotech stories begin with a molecule no one has seen before. SaNOtize Research and Development Corp. begins with one everybody carries: nitric oxide, the gas the human body produces to signal blood vessels, transmit nerve impulses and, crucially, to attack invading microbes. Founded in Vancouver in 2017 by biochemist Gilly Regev and nitric oxide researcher Chris Miller, the company set out to answer a deceptively simple question - what if you could deliver that natural defense on demand, exactly where an infection begins?
The answer became a Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray, or NONS, built on a patented Nitric Oxide Releasing Solution platform the company calls NORS. Sprayed into the nasal passage - the front door most respiratory viruses use to enter the body - it is designed to block viral entry into cells, kill the pathogen and limit its replication in the earliest hours of exposure.
When COVID-19 arrived, that idea moved from laboratory to pharmacy shelf at a speed rarely seen in drug development. A Phase 3 trial reported strong efficacy against SARS-CoV-2, the product won regulatory approval in India, and a separate study in Thailand found people who used the spray after a known exposure were markedly less likely to become infected.
But the pandemic is only the opening chapter. SaNOtize is a platform company, not a single-product one. The same nitric oxide chemistry now points at sinusitis, wound infection and even nail fungus - a pipeline built on the premise that one well-understood molecule can be aimed at many problems.
SaNOtize develops and commercializes therapeutics and medical devices that deliver the antimicrobial properties of nitric oxide against viral, bacterial and fungal infections.
The company's flagship is its Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray. Nitric oxide is a naturally occurring molecule with broad antimicrobial activity, including a direct effect on SARS-CoV-2 and its variants. By releasing it precisely in the nasal passage, SaNOtize targets the site where many respiratory infections take hold - a strategy of early, local intervention rather than systemic treatment after illness has spread.
That NORS platform is the real asset. It is not one drug but a delivery approach, which is why the same underlying chemistry appears across a widening set of products and indications.
"Nitric oxide blocks the virus from entering cells of the nasal passage, kills the virus, and stops its replication." - Gilly Regev, Co-Founder & CEO
The core product - nitric oxide delivered to the nasal passage to reduce viral load and prevent infection.
NONS marketed as an antiviral nasal spray in Israel, Indonesia, Bahrain and other markets.
NONS sold as a medical device in markets including Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Nepal, South Africa and Germany.
Prescription NONS in India, commercialized through a licensing partnership with Glenmark Pharmaceuticals.
A topical gel showing nail penetration and antifungal activity for onychomycosis (nail fungus).
A Phase 2 program evaluating the nasal spray for recurrent acute rhinosinusitis.
Respiratory viruses gain a foothold in the nasal passage hours before symptoms appear. Most treatments arrive after that window has closed. SaNOtize aims to act inside it.
People seeking early, at-home protection against respiratory viruses, plus pharmacies, distributors and healthcare providers across a dozen international markets - B2C and B2B.
Rather than inventing a novel compound, SaNOtize delivers nitric oxide, a molecule the body already uses and science already understands - a Nobel Prize-winning one at that.
The NORS technology spans antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal uses, letting a lean team address many indications from a single scientific base.
Figures reflect publicly reported study results and company announcements. Efficacy figures are indicative of specific trials, not a guarantee of individual outcomes.
SaNOtize runs a hybrid life-sciences model. It develops and patents nitric oxide-based therapeutics, then commercializes them both directly and through regional licensing and distribution partners. The clearest example is Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, the Indian company that manufactures and markets the spray as FabiSpray and co-published Phase 3 results.
Revenue comes from product sales of the nasal spray across international markets and from partnership and licensing agreements, all supported by venture funding that advances the clinical pipeline. It is a structure that lets a roughly 22-person company reach shelves on multiple continents without building its own global sales force everywhere.
In the broader market, SaNOtize sits at the intersection of nitric oxide therapeutics - a field that also includes inhaled-NO players - and the growing category of nasal antiviral and barrier sprays. Its differentiation is positioning nitric oxide not as an ICU intervention but as an accessible, everyday line of defense.
Where competitors sell inhaled nitric oxide for hospital settings or carrageenan-based barrier sprays for consumers, SaNOtize's pitch is the delivery of an active antimicrobial molecule at the nasal passage, backed by clinical trials and a platform that reaches beyond a single indication.
Gilly Regev and Chris Miller launch the company in Vancouver to commercialize nitric oxide-based antimicrobial therapeutics.
SaNOtize partners with Glenmark Pharmaceuticals to commercialize NONS in India and other Asian markets.
A Phase 3 trial confirms strong efficacy against COVID-19; the product is approved in India as FabiSpray.
An oversubscribed round co-led by Horizons Ventures and OurCrowd funds the clinical pipeline.
The company opens a Phase 2 sinusitis trial and publishes antifungal gel research for onychomycosis.
A biochemist who co-founded SaNOtize and leads its strategy, translating nitric oxide research into commercial products.
A longtime leader in the nitric oxide field who serves as Chief Scientific Officer, anchoring the company's scientific depth.
Horizons Ventures and OurCrowd co-led the Series B, with participation from ABC International - investors betting on the platform, not one product.
"SaNOtize" is a play on "sanitize" with NO - the chemical symbol for nitric oxide - tucked inside.
Nitric oxide was named "Molecule of the Year" in 1992 and earned a Nobel Prize in 1998 for its role in the body.
The same product ships as Enovid, VirX and FabiSpray depending on the market and its regulations.
SaNOtize reached pharmacy shelves during the pandemic - an unusually quick path for a biotech.
SaNOtize develops nitric oxide-based therapeutics, most notably a Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray (NONS) sold as Enovid, VirX and FabiSpray, to prevent and treat viral, bacterial and fungal infections.
It delivers nitric oxide, a naturally occurring antimicrobial molecule, to the nasal passage where, according to the company, it blocks viral entry into cells, kills the virus and limits replication early in infection.
The nasal spray is sold or approved in more than a dozen markets including India, Israel, Indonesia, Bahrain, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Nepal, South Africa and Germany, under different brand names.
It was founded in 2017 by Gilly Regev (CEO) and Chris Miller (Chief Scientific Officer) and is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
SaNOtize raised a $24 million Series B round in 2022 co-led by Horizons Ventures and OurCrowd; total funding across rounds is estimated at roughly $39 million.
Sources: SaNOtize; BusinessWire; BioSpace; NoCamels; FiercePharma; Life Sciences BC; The Globe and Mail; ClinicalTrials.gov. Figures are as publicly reported and may be approximate.