In a troubled economy, raising $11 million dollars for a start up is no small feat, but researcher Dr. Dan Berkowitz from the Johns Hopkins Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine has done just that. Arginetix, his Lutherville biotech firm, is developing small molecule inhibitors of the enzyme arginase for the treatment of endothelial dysfunction, including pulmonary arterial hypertension, atherosclerosis and asthma. In other words, drugs that could someday treat cancer, asthma and high blood pressure. Arginetix hopes to test its drugs with human clinical trials in the next two years, and if Dr. Berkowitz's company is acquired by a large pharmaceutical company, these new drugs may be available to patients within 5-6 years.
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