Nobilis Therapeutics said today that it partnered with device manufacturer Submersible Systems to develop a portable, hand-held inhalation device that administers a xenon gas-based therapeutic, NBTX-001.

The companies said they are working on customizing and testing the drug-device combination. The group plans to pursue regulatory approval with the FDA, supported by upcoming clinical trials in PTSD, alzheimer’s, dementia and autism.

“We believe that Submersible Systems is an ideal partner in our quest to develop a miniature device for self-administration of our proprietary drug candidates, beginning with NBTX-001.” Nobilis CEO Dr. Vlad Bogin said in prepared remarks. “We were amazed by the ingenuity and simplicity of their solutions, by the quality of their products and immediately felt that merging Submersible’s technical and engineering expertise with Nobilis’ scientific and clinical competencies would be a winning combination that will allow us to drastically accelerate our development process.”

In April, Nobilis completed an 81-patient clinical trial that evaluated NBTX-001 in patients with panic disorder.

“When Nobilis shared with us their scientific data and development plans, we became very excited,” Submersible Systems’ marketing VP Christeen Buban added. “They have a highly promising drug candidate, a premier team of medical experts, and are in need of an innovative delivery method that we can definitely help them with. Our commercially available device is already almost made for Nobilis’ needs and we are now in the process of its reconfiguration that will transform it into a perfect drug delivery system.”